2024-02-13 14:17:22
The terrorist group Hamas has a presence in Belgium. This was confirmed by the Belgian Minister of Justice, Paul van Tichelt. He sent a letter with this content in response to a question from a Belgian MP. Local media note that this is the first official recognition by the Belgian authorities of the presence of “Hamas” in the country.
It is specified that, according to the Belgian security services, Hamas does not encourage, prepare or carry out terrorist activities in Belgium, but through dubious organizations it collects funds and lobbies to improve the image of the group in the EU. One of these organizations was found to be led by a Palestinian very close to the leadership of Hamas, who was operating with the help of Morocco. The office of this organization is a few meters from the main buildings of the European Commission and the Council of the EU and the European Council in Brussels.
According to documents, such organizations explain their existence with the desire to teach young people to love sports and music, BTA reports. They collect funds in defense of the “Palestinian cause”. According to the security services, it is difficult to trace the money flows because such organizations use unconventional ways of money transfers. This makes it difficult to prove the links of these organizations to Hamas and to take measures.
It is clarified that in order for the Belgian authorities to take more decisive action, it is necessary for such an organization to be convicted by a criminal or commercial court. It is considered that in more extreme cases it is possible for the National Security Council, the EU or the UN to freeze the property of those found in collaboration with a terrorist group. According to the services, a very thorough international investigation is needed for this purpose.