JERUSALEM, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces said on Wednesday that they raided the West Bank home of a Palestinian who carried out a fatal attack in 2008, and confiscated money that Hamas gave to support his family.
Micky Rosenfeld, an Israeli police spokesman, said in a statement that the raid was carried out "as part of general operations to prevent Hamas finances from making their way into the hands of the families of terrorists who murdered Israelis."
The raided home belongs to Ala Hisham Hussein Abu Dhaim, who killed 10 years ago eight Jewish seminary students in Mercaz HaRav, a nationalist yeshiva in Jerusalem, and later shot dead by a student.
Rosenfeld said intelligence information indicated that the Islamist Hamas movement gave the family money.
"During the operation, police units searched the house and seized 43,000 shekels (11,800 U.S. dollars) in cash as well as cash in foreign currencies," he said.
Hamas and Fatah often financially support families of Palestinians who took part in the struggle against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza Strip, including assailants carrying out fatal attacks against Israelis.
In 2017, Israeli forces seized more than 300,000 shekels from families of seven different attackers, according to police figures.
The Palestinian National Authority said the funds aim to support the welfare of families with male members in Israeli jails, while Israel sees them as "support for terrorists" and an incentive to carry out more attacks.
