Man Sentenced to Four Years for Transferring Funds to Hamas

Sohail Bashir has been sentenced to four years in prison by the Central District Court for transferring hundreds of thousands of shekels and dollars to Hamas in the West Bank. Bashir pleaded guilty to transferring 200,000 shekels and $150,000 in cash, admitting he had reasonable suspicion the funds would be used for terrorist activities.

Bashir was also fined 170,000 shekels, and 30,000 shekels found in his possession were confiscated. The court noted that the state argued a large-scale, systematic, and covert criminal plan was in place since October 2024 to transfer significant cash sums into the West Bank, funded by Hamas and other terror organizations. This plan allegedly involved Waddah Saadi, a former Jenin resident living in Turkey and operating for Hamas, and Nissim Arabi, an Israeli citizen residing in Turkey and brother of another defendant, Fadi Arabi.

Bashir, a friend of Arabi, was recruited for the operation and acted under the "real suspicion" that the money was intended for terrorism. He received funds from Arabi three times in February 2025, passing them to Muhammad Ganaim, who then arranged their transfer to another individual in Nablus. Judge Michal Barkai-Nevo emphasized the need for deterrence, stating that actions harming national security, especially those linked to terrorism, require a clear and strong message.

While acknowledging Bashir did not act with certainty that the funds were for terror and did not appear to have malicious intent towards national security, the judge stressed the necessity of significant deterrence to prevent him and others from similar actions for financial gain. Bashir expressed remorse, attributing his actions to severe financial distress due to high construction costs, but acknowledged it was a grave mistake. He presented himself as a social entrepreneur who had contributed to the country and worked with government ministries to assist disadvantaged populations, including preparing individuals for psychometric exams free of charge.

Testimonials in his favor were provided by former Knesset Member Dov Khenin and former Sakhnin Mayor and MK Mazen Ganaim. The court considered sentencing parity with other defendants in the case. Bashir is the last to be sentenced; his actions were deemed more severe than those of William Hanna and Sami Hanna, who received 26 and 11 months respectively, but less severe than Arabi, who received 70 months, Muhammad Hitz, who received 6.5 years, and Adham Dulani, who received five years.