Is There a Hamas Network in America? What We Know

Hamas backers "have long operated in the United States" and they "are still engaged in various forms of support" for the organization, a new academic report claims.

The Program on Extremism at George Washington University (GWU) released an account of Hamas' presence in the U.S. on October 13, which said that while many of its domestic activities have been foiled, networks and individuals remain in America providing "at times purely political and not material" backing for the group.

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the report when approached by Newsweek, but said the agency "will investigate any individuals here in the U.S. who provide material support to Hamas or any other foreign terrorist organization."

The findings come days after the federal government announced a new set of sanctions against 10 Hamas operatives around the world, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken said are "directed at Hamas terrorists and their support network, not Palestinians."

None of the individuals named by the U.S. Treasury Department reside in America, but the sanctions mean any U.S. assets they have will be "blocked and must be reported," while people living in America are prohibited from making any transactions with the designated people.

There has been fresh scrutiny over Hamas' ties to the U.S. after the militant wing of the Islamist organization—designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and which effectively controls the Gaza Strip—launched a surprise attack against Israel along with Islamic Jihad militants on October 7.

Following the attack, the Israeli government declared war on Hamas, and it has vowed to eliminate the organization. The Israeli Air Force has conducted an intensive campaign of air strikes on Gaza. According to the Associated Press, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 5,087 Palestinians had died, while the Israeli government has said more than 1,400 had been killed in Israel.

While some in America have praised Hamas, characterizing the attacks that targeted civilians as a reaction to Israeli oppression, some students who have spoken out in favor of the organization have lost job offers, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has called for Hamas sympathizers with visas to have their permits revoked.

Expressing support for Hamas is different from being actively involved in the organization's international network, which according to the GWU study, has largely been blocked in the U.S., but nevertheless continues in a diminished form.

The report noted that a Hamas network has existed in the U.S. since the 1980s. It was formalized into the Palestine Committee in 1988, whose stated goals were said to include "increasing the financial and the moral support for Hamas" and publicizing "the savagery of the Jews." It spawned several public-facing organizations, which the GWU said are now defunct.

The U.S. government has conducted a series of counterterrorism operations against Hamas' American support network.

In 2008, the leaders of the Holy Land Foundation—a Texas-based charity established to finance Hamas—were convicted of accruing $12.4 million for the militant organization and received sentences of up to 65 years, which the study described as constituting "the largest successful terrorism financing prosecution in U.S. history."

The GWU report said, however, that many members of the Palestine Committee have "created new structures to provide support for Hamas."

While it said some of these focus their efforts on fundraising, "others have concentrated on more political and educational efforts." By their nature, those are "more difficult to fall under the provisions of material support to a terrorist organization and therefore trigger criminal charges."

"The FBI cannot comment on specific investigations but we will work with our partners within the U.S. government to uncover any efforts to support such organizations and use our lawful authorities to stop it," the agency spokesperson told Newsweek. "It is important to emphasize the FBI only investigates criminal activity and threats to national security. We do not conduct investigations based solely on First Amendment protected activity."

Update 10/24/23, 3:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from an FBI spokesperson.

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