Israeli Man Sentenced to Four Years for Transferring Funds to Hamas

A district court in central Israel has sentenced Suhail Bashir, a 38-year-old resident of Sakhnin, to four years in prison for transferring hundreds of thousands of shekels and dollars in cash to the Palestinian territories to fund Hamas and other terror organizations. Bashir pleaded guilty to the charges.

According to the indictment, Bashir was part of a secret network operating since October 2024, transferring large sums of cash from Israel to Judea and Samaria. The network was allegedly run from Turkey by a Hamas operative and an Israeli citizen who recruited Bashir. Between February 2025 and his arrest, Bashir received funds on three separate occasions and passed them on to individuals in Nablus, with strong suspicions that the money was intended for terror financing.

Bashir admitted to transferring over 650,000 shekels, alongside five other defendants from northern Israel who collectively transferred over 3.5 million shekels. These funds were intended to support Hamas's military infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. The transfers were reportedly directed by Waddah Saadi, a former security prisoner from Jenin who moved to Turkey in 2016 and began working for Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Iran's Quds Force.

In her ruling, Judge Michal Barak-Nevo stated that Bashir acted with "closed eyes" regarding the money's destination for terror financing, a less severe offense than acting with full awareness. She noted that Bashir, described as intelligent, educated, and well-integrated into Israeli society, did not fit the profile of someone likely to commit terror-related offenses, especially not for financial reasons. The judge emphasized the severity of the crimes, committed during wartime shortly after the October 7th attacks.

In addition to the prison sentence, Bashir was fined 200,000 shekels, despite not profiting from the transactions. The other defendants in the case received lengthy prison sentences and faced significant financial penalties, including forfeiture of assets totaling 1.6 million shekels, a hundredfold increase over their reported cumulative profit of 16,000 shekels.

Bashir expressed deep remorse, took full responsibility, and claimed he acted out of financial distress due to high construction costs, not ideology. He presented himself as a social entrepreneur who contributed to the country and volunteered to help disadvantaged populations. Testimonials supporting his character were provided by former Knesset member Dov Khenin and former Sakhnin Mayor and MK Mazen Ghanayim.