no questions asked
Typically, transfers involve valid foreign currency letters of credit, or orders for a variety of imported goods, usually at inflated valuations, from clothing to toys to shoes and household items, said four sources familiar with the mechanism. Mainly from China.
A senior Islamic Jihad source said, “They don’t ask questions, but the deal is that they hand over a portion of the money to a reputable businessman we deal with, who hands it over to our military operator.” Is.”
Between a quarter and a third of the value of these transactions are delivered in cash to the Islamic Jihad Trust by traders and those who receive funds to the militant group often use family ties to help keep the transfers secret, the source said. Are.
Automatic rifles, such as the M16, can cost up to $30,000 and, in an area of chronic unemployment, regular fighters say they can earn $300 to $700 a month from the Iranian-backed group.
Israeli officials say that most of the weapons used by the Jenin fighters come from Israel, are stolen and sold through criminal gangs. Some are smuggled across the Jordanian border, and some are produced in local workshops.
For youths living in camps inspired by posters of martyred fighters put up in public places, the origin of the money paid for weapons is of little concern.
“It is well known that external funding comes from Islamic Jihad,” said another fighter from the al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, the faction founded in the 1950s by Yasser Arafat, who now runs the Palestinian Authority.
“We don’t care who brings us the money.”