Hamas still making 3 million shekels a day - and the ground is ready for the final destination | Lt. Col. (res.) Amit Yagur

Lt. Col. (res.) Amit Yagur reveals that Hamas is extorting about 3 million shekels a day from the private sector in Gaza through threats, exploiting the mechanism for bringing goods into the Strip. The author calls for a complete separation between the population and Hamas, through criminalizing money changers, direct supply, and opening crossings for voluntary migration.

Lt. Col. (res.) Amit Yagur analyzes in an opinion piece in Maariv the extortion mechanism of Hamas in the private sector in Gaza. He reveals that the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Major General Yoram Lavi, reported yesterday on the cessation of coordination of truck entry by the private sector due to extortion under threats. Hamas demands about 10,000 shekels per truck from merchants and forces them to sell 30% of the goods for cash only. Merchants who refused were arrested along with their families. The private sector constitutes about 50% of the goods entering the Strip, so daily collection reaches about 3 million shekels a day (about 90 million shekels a month). Yagur argues that the trucks intended to feed the population have become a financial growth engine for Hamas, enabling payment of salaries to terrorists and maintenance of the control mechanism. He proposes three steps: criminalizing money changers and financial sanctions, direct supply by international companies while neutralizing Hamas's collection mechanisms, and opening crossings for voluntary migration through Rafah and the sea, accompanied by an international aid fund. Yagur argues that without a population, Hamas's lifeline will be cut off and a reshuffling of the Strip's future will be possible.