Since the beginning of April, several bank branches in Gaza City, devastated by bombings by the Israeli army and largely emptied of its population, have been the target of spectacular burglaries. The world was able to obtain a document from the Bank of Palestine, dating from April 20, which reveals the extent of these heists.
The Bank of Palestine is a private financial institution, the largest in the Palestinian territories, founded in Gaza in the 1960s and still managed by a large family from the enclave, the Shawa. On April 16, bank employees noticed that a hole had been drilled in the ceiling of the bank’s vault, located in the heart of the Rimal district, a wealthy corner of the enclave, before the war. The armed group took away ATM cassettes, containing approximately 2.8 million euros in Israeli shekels. But the criminals had not succeeded in opening the safes.
To prevent any return of the bandits, the bank then poured cement over the coffers, which still contained significant cash reserves. But on April 17, “armed groups” armed with explosives blew up the cement box and opened three safes, stealing 29 million euros in different currencies, reports the world.
Important funds
On April 18, bank employees rushed to a second branch, the largest in the city center, to withdraw the large funds still stored there. They were awaited by an armed commando, claiming to be “of the highest authorities in Gaza”, formula which designates Hamas, reveals the document recovered by the daily. Threatening employees, firing shots, the criminals left this time with 33.6 million euros in Israeli shekels. One of the bank employees was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack.
The bank revealed that a previous heist had taken place on the night of April 7, in the branch on Omar al-Mokhtar Street. Booty for the criminals: 3.7 million euros in different currencies. In one month, the bank therefore estimated its losses at 66 million euros and all its other coffers have since been cemented.
According to the world, the Bank of Palestine was also targeted by the Israeli army, which at the beginning of the year allegedly seized a large sum of money – the equivalent of several tens of millions of dollars, according to Israeli media – to prevent Hamas from don’t grab it.
Most of the banks present in Gaza suffered intrusions during the war: attempted theft from deserted counters, drilling of ATMs, etc. On April 22, the Palestinian Currency Authority lamented that “Repeated attacks on bank branches and ATMs threaten the continued activity of these branches and their ability to pay employees’ salaries and disburse funds to their owners.” She called the representatives of “Social forces and tribes in the Gaza Strip to provide protection to the agencies and their property,” reports the world.
Obstacle course
Anxious to reassure depositors, the Currency Authority specifies that only 8.4% of Palestinian bank funds were kept in Gaza before the war. According to a French diplomat, the Bank of Palestine is supported by several states and international institutions – Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency, has been a small shareholder of the bank since 2021. He recalls “that the fundamentals of the bank are solid and that France will continue to support it, as well as the Palestinian banking system in general.”
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Palestinian banks have tried to protect their funds. In November 2023, the Bank of Palestine took advantage of the brief ceasefire to gather part of its funds stored in two branches in Gaza City – the equivalent of 45 million euros in Israeli shekels – and make them transport discreetly to the south of the enclave. This operation, revealed by the Financial Times in December 2023, was confirmed in World by Palestinian and international sources.
Today, obtaining cash is an obstacle course for Gazans. All Bank of Palestine offices have closed. Only two ATMs still operate, in Rafah and Deir Al-Balah (South), when they are supplied with electricity. According to testimonies from Gazans, corroborated by surveillance camera recordings, armed and masked men ransom customers in front of ATMs, demanding a percentage of their withdrawals. Some also queue for hours to give up their place once they arrive near these machines, in exchange for a few tickets.
