Exposé Reveals Funding and Support Network of Hamas in the UK
Israel's Channel 12 news exposes how Britain has become a key hub for Hamas operations—with senior Hamas officials gaining citizenship and raising funds through charities and government support
A new investigation broadcast on Israel’s Channel 12 news revealed that Britain has become a central hub for Hamas’ operations outside Gaza. Senior Hamas officials have gained British citizenship, operate charities raising huge sums, and even receive funding from the UK government—all while calling for Israel’s destruction and in potential violation of British anti-terror laws.
One Quarter of Hamas’ Funding Flows from Britain
According to the report, Britain is one of the top three sources of donations to Hamas, alongside a few Muslim-majority states. More than a quarter of Hamas’s non-state funding comes from the UK, with much of it laundered through charities posing as humanitarian organizations. In 2001, the Charity Coalition was formed under Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi—who justified suicide attacks against Israelis—to funnel donations from about 50 Islamic foundations directly into Hamas’s activities. Former Israeli intelligence officials describe Britain as “Hamas’s financial capital in the West.” A former senior official in Israel’s Shin Bet, explained that Britain has become a safe zone for Hamas’s activities because, unlike other European countries, it has not cracked down on Hamas’s fundraising and propaganda operations.
UK Government Funds Tied to Hamas
Channel 12 revealed that tens of millions of pounds in UK government aid continue to flow to Gaza’s Ministry of Social Development, run by Hamas official Razi Hamad, even after the October 7 massacre.
Legal advisor Anne Herzberg from NGO Monitor, featured in the exposé, shared in a detailed X thread explaining that a 2022 British Consulate-General document explicitly flagged the “major risks of actual or perceived diversion” of humanitarian aid in Gaza, yet the UK pressed ahead. She highlighted how UNICEF’s own updates in March 2024 boasted about “maintaining and strengthening” its partnership with Hamas’s social development ministry and using their beneficiary lists for cash disbursement—despite the group’s documented practice of diverting to terror purposes. Herzberg called for full transparency, arguing that British taxpayers should be outraged at how their money is directly or indirectly propping up Hamas’s war efforts.
Hamas’s Key Figures in the UK
The investigation spotlighted several senior Hamas operatives who have built their power base in Britain:
Majed Al-Zeer – A Palestinian from Hebron with British citizenship, he led the Palestinian Return Centre in London and is wanted by Israel and the US. Al-Zeer has been photographed with top Hamas leaders like Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshaal. In one of the most telling details, Al-Zeer was a key figure in demonstrations across Europe and is regarded by security officials as Hamas’s main representative in Europe. Al-Zeer currently has an arrest warrant issued against him by the German police.
Zaher Birawi – Originally from the West Bank, Birawi helped organize the Mavi Marmara flotilla and was interrogated by Israel’s Shin Bet for incitement and supporting Hamas activities. He now leads the Palestinian Return Centre in London and has been at the forefront of pro-Hamas protests in Britain since October 7.
Issam Youssef Mustafa – A former Hamas political bureau member and British citizen, Mustafa heads the Interpal Foundation in London, a group Israel designates as a terrorist entity and the US has sanctioned. Mustafa has been photographed with senior Hamas leaders in Gaza, highlighting his deep ties to the group’s inner circle.
Muhammad Sawalha – One of the founders of Hamas’s military wing in the West Bank, Sawalha fled to Britain and has close ties to former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. His past includes direct involvement in organizing Hamas operations in the 1990s.
Credit: ELNET
Legal Push to Reverse Hamas’s Terror Designation
Hamas has now petitioned British courts to overturn its 2021 terror designation, claiming it violates their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. In a recent court filing, lawyers representing the group argue that being listed as a terrorist group restricts political expression and free speech. British MP Robert Jenrick called the effort “sickening,” highlighting the group’s record of violence and refusal to return Israeli hostages.
John Aziz, a British-Palestinian peace activist, said Hamas should never be recognized as anything other than a terrorist group. Eugene Kontorovich, Executive Director of George Mason University’s Scalia Law School’s Center for the Middle East and International Law, called for sanctions against the lawyers helping Hamas in this campaign, describing their efforts as material support for a designated foreign terror organization.
Hamas’s Broader Network in Europe
The European Leadership Network (ELNET) released its own report on October 15, 2024 exposing how Hamas has built a sprawling network across Europe, operating through 30 affiliated organizations and individuals in the UK, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In Britain, groups like Miles of Smiles, Education Aid for Palestinians, and the British Muslim Initiative pose as charities and lobby groups, while actually working to spread Hamas’s radical message. According to ELNET, these organizations switch names and structures to stay ahead of enforcement efforts, ensuring Hamas’s ideological and financial operations remain active.
The Danger at Home and Abroad
In addition to funding, Hamas’s activity in Britain includes ideological support. Author Ayaan Hirsi Ali warns that Hamas’s transnational network is designed to radicalize segments of European societies and erode democratic values from within.
UK officials have insisted that Hamas remains banned, but as the Channel 12 exposé shows, charities and political campaigns connected to Hamas continue to operate with troubling ease. Former Mossad official Udi Levy said, “Even if we kill the last of Hamas’s fighters in Gaza, their infrastructure in Europe will keep going unless we address it directly.”
The exposé by Channel 12 reveals how Hamas is still finding room to grow and operate within Britain’s borders. The challenge now is whether the UK can shut these doors once and for all.