The Arab Bank has been the target of a series of Hamas raids in 2010.
Hamas plainclothes officers have stormed bank branches and stolen nearly $1
million.
On June 27, the Palestine Islamic Bank in Gaza City suspended operations
after Hamas raided the financial institution and grabbed $16,000, Middle East Newsline reported. The money
was said to have been deposited in the account of the Educational Teaching
Society, frozen by the bank several days earlier.
"There was a court order to unfreeze these funds," an official said.
This marked the third Hamas raid of Palestinian banks in the Gaza Strip
during 2010. Several months earlier, the Bank of Palestine was attacked by
Hamas troops, who made off with $280,000 from a deposit held by a
Hamas-dominated charity.
Hamas has been under sanctions from both the European Union and United
States. The sanctions ban any bank transfers to the Hamas regime in the Gaza
Strip, which has been struggling to pay its more than 30,000 civil servants
for much of 2010.
In May, Palestinian gunmen entered the Arab Bank and demanded $400,000
in tax proceeds destined for the Palestinian Authority, expelled by Hamas in
2007. The Arab Bank, with 500 branches in 30 countries, was identified as
one of the last financial institutions that operated under international
standards.
The Arab Bank, the second largest financial institution in the Gaza
Strip, has already dismissed hundreds of employees and closed two branches.
Executives said the Hamas raids have jeopardized the banking system.
"Unfortunately, the situation in Gaza does not allow us to function at
the level to which we are committed, and therefore the bank's operations
will cease until proper working conditions are made available," the Arab
Bank said.