Israel’s Leumi Bank has decided to block the UN agency UNRWA’s bank account following concerns that funds in the organization's account, intended to assist refugees, may be aiding terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.
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Leumi Bank informed the UN refugee agency of this decision in a letter, stating that due to recent reports regarding UNRWA's activities in Gaza released in recent days, there is reason to suspect the organization's funds are illegally used for terror purposes against Israel.
Leumi Bank’s letter claimed that the large sums transferred by UNRWA to Gaza don’t allow the bank to trace the source of the funds and the ultimate destination of some of the money, which is suspected to be directed to support terrorism in the Strip.
UNRWA owns an active bank account at Leumi Bank, and the bank has recently issued warnings to the agency, expressing concern that actions in the account may be in violation of the law prohibiting the transfer of funds to terrorist organizations.
Leumi Bank has recently observed a significant amount of irregular activity in UNRWA's account, prompting an immediate decision to block it entirely.
Some eight countries have already announced they’d be halting all funding to UNRWA last week, with some of these funds also being transferred to the organization via Israeli bank accounts.
Leumi Bank refused to comment.