What happened?
Palestinian armed groups, including one allegedly linked to the Islamist movement Hamas, robbed nearly 70 million dollars from various Gaza bank branchesreported the newspaper Le Monde this Saturday.
The French media had access to a document transmitted by the Bank of Palestine to “some international partners”, in which he describes spectacular robberieslike the one that occurred at its main branch in Gaza City.
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Consecutive robberies at Bank of Palestine branches
Agency employees discovered on April 16 “that a hole had been made in the roof of the vault,” the newspaper explains, adding that “the criminals took ATM cassettes” that contained the equivalent of 3 million dollars in Israeli shekels.
The next day, April 17, “armed groups equipped with explosives entered the building again,” blew up a cement cover and took the equivalent of 30 million dollars “in different currencies,” adds the newspaper.
The largest branch in central Gaza City was attacked on April 18 by a “commando” of men who said they responded to “the highest authorities in Gaza,” a formula that, according to the newspaper, corresponds to Hamas. In that attack, shekels were taken for a equivalent to more than 36 million dollars.
Hamas, at war against Israel, has ruled Gaza since 2007. The Bank of Palestine, founded in 1960, is the main financial institution from Gaza.
The Palestinian Monetary Authorityan independent body that oversees the financial system in the Palestinian territories, told AFP that it planned to issue a statement on the matter on Saturday.
