US ally Qatar followed Tehran and pledged $50m to the Hamas government Monday.
To transfer the $50 million dollars pledged to the Hamas-led Palestinian government, Tehran has simply opened an account at the Misr International Bank (MIBank) in Cairo, according to DEBKAfileÂ’s Middle East sources. This back-door financing route was approved by the Egyptian government. Our sources add that control of the state-owned MIBank was acquired by FranceÂ’s banking giant Societe Generale which is also, according to DEBKAfileÂ’s intelligence sources, TehranÂ’s main banking channel in Europe. Therefore, the promised Iranian funding of $50 million can be transferred to Paris and thence to Cairo and the Gaza Strip, easily busting the aid and financing boycott the US and Israel imposed on the new Palestinian government.
The same vehicle is also available to Moscow. Another of FranceÂ’s Societe GeneraleÂ’s recent acquisitions is control of the big Russian bank Delta-Credit. Last Friday, April 14, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov promised financial assistance to the Hamas government.
As for Egypt, Cairo may go through the motions of blacklisting the Palestinian government under radical Islamic rule, but Egyptian border officials have allowed the Gaza-Rafah crossing to become a two-way highway for the comings and goings of Hamas officials to any Arab or Muslim country they please. This license plus the availability of an Egyptian banking channel expose the Mubarak government as the silent backer of HamasÂ’ efforts to establish itself as the legitimate Palestinian government.
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