Israel and its doubts about Ismail Haniyeh's monetary wealth
In recent days, controversy has arisen over the alleged monetary wealth of Ismail Haniyeh, the late leader of the Palestinian extremist Islamist group Hamas, allegedly accumulated in bank accounts in Turkey, and over the origin and the claim to this alleged money, which allegedly amounts to $3 billion, which has led to an alleged confrontation between Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, and Haniyeh's own sons.
Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, commented on the issue on the social networking site X. Israel Katz said: ‘This week a conflict broke out between Erdogan and the sons of Ismail Haniyeh, who demanded the 3 billion dollars deposited in Turkish bank accounts in their father's name. Erdogan refused to hand over the funds’.
This week, a conflict erupted between @RTErdogan and the sons of Ismail Haniyeh, who demanded the $3 billion held in Turkish bank accounts under their father's name. Erdoğan refused to release the funds.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) August 16, 2024
How did Haniyeh, born in the Al-Shati refugee camp, amass such a fortune?… pic.twitter.com/7Eblaw4HdK
‘How could Haniyeh, born in the Al-Shati refugee camp, amass such a fortune? How many Palestinians in Gaza could have lived better if the money had reached them? And more importantly, what is Erdogan's connection to the money?’ asked Israel Katz himself.
‘Follow the money' is a well-known phrase. In this case, the direction is clear, the Israeli foreign minister pointed out.
For its part, Turkey rejects Israeli Foreign Minister Katz's so-called ‘lies’ about Haniyeh's ‘fortune’.
Turkey's Presidential Communications Directorate and Foreign Ministry rejected the latest so-called lies by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, in which he claimed that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to transfer the Hamas leader's fortune to his son.
In a statement, the directorate said Katz's claim that Erdogan did not allow the transfer of Ismail Haniyeh's fortune of around $3 billion in Turkish banks to his sons is false.
The statement said that Haniyeh had no savings in Turkish banks, contrary to Katz's claim.
Tension in the Middle East
Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran along with one of his security detail at his Tehran residence. Hours after witnessing the inauguration of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the main perpetrator of the 7 October attacks in Israel that left more than 1,200 dead, was assassinated at his home in the capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, along with a member of his security detail.
A situation that further increased tensions in the Middle East, already high enough with the war between Israel and Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the United States, Israel and the European Union, which governs the Gaza Strip, the territory where the war is taking place.
A war that began after the terrible attacks by Hamas on Israeli territory on 7 October, which provoked the harsh Israeli military response, which has already left tens of thousands of victims in Gaza territory.
Turkey's own president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh a ‘despicable act’ aimed at undermining the Palestinian cause, Gaza's glorious resistance and the just struggle of the Palestinians.
