European Reports Unvailed Hamas Affiliation Network across Europe

Partial view of the ELNET report's Hamas affiliated network in Europe.

(photo credit: ELNET)

A series of investigative reports released on Tuesday by the European Leadership Network (ELNET) exposes an extensive network of Hamas-affiliated organizations and individuals operating across several European countries.

The reports, focusing on the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium, were released one year after the October 7 attack in Israel.

ELNET's investigation identified approximately 30 organizations and individuals with alleged ties to Hamas, some of which were formally designated by Western nations, who operate freely across the continent despite Hamas’s designation as a terrorist organization by the European Union and various other governments.

Each of the four reports is split into two sections: one is an identical all-European section, and the second one is a varying local section.

The first section revolves around actors operating in an all-European context, with individuals including Majed Al-Zeer (Germany), Mohammad Hannoun (Italy), Adel Doghman (Austria), Amin Abou Rashed (the Netherlands), Zaher Birawi (UK), and Mazen Kahel (France). In a noteworthy coincidence, the first three individuals – Zeer, Hannoun and Doghman – were all designated only last week by the US treasury for their work for Hamas, while the fourth one, Abou Rashed, has been detained for almost a year in the Netherlands and is currently being tried for alleged financing of Hamas worth millions of Euros.

In the reports, these six officials are claimed to be acting as Hamas’s operatives in each of their respective countries. The reports also highlight the operatives’ involvement in the forming of six organizations: three older ones which were designated by Israel in 2013 and were since dissolved, and three newer ones, which may imply an attempt at rebranding and circumventing sanctions