The Palestinian Authority urged Sudan’s government on Saturday to hand over assets it has seized as part of a crackdown targeting Sudan-based operations to fund the Hamas group.
“We hope that the state of Sudan, which has always been a supporter of Palestine, to hand over the movable and immovable funds that were confiscated to the State of Palestine and its government,” Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official close to President Mahmoud Abbas, wrote on Twitter.
Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk dismissed his comments.
He alleged that the recent thwarted coup in Sudan was part of an internal conflict aimed at winning American support to the civilian component of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s government against the military.
“It is a cheap game in which Hamas’ name was dragged into,” he added, demanding that Sudan amend its position towards the movement.
Earlier this week, Sudanese authorities announced they had seized lucrative assets that for years provided backing for Hamas, shedding light on how the country served as a haven for the group under ousted leader Omar al-Bashir.
These assets include real estate, company shares, a hotel in a prime Khartoum location, an exchange bureau, a TV station and more than a million acres of farmland.
The takeover of at least a dozen companies that officials say were linked to Hamas has helped accelerate Sudan’s realignment with the West since Bashir’s overthrow in 2019.
Sudan became a center for money laundering and terrorism financing, said Wagdi Salih, a leading member of the task force - the Committee to Dismantle the June 30, 1989 Regime and Retrieve Public Funds.
The regime was “a big cover, a big umbrella, internally and externally,” he said.
“They (Hamas-linked companies) got preferential treatment in tenders, tax forgiveness, and they were allowed to transfer to Hamas and Gaza with no limits,” said a task force member, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Hamas denied having links to companies and individuals targeted by Sudan’s crackdown, saying the seized assets belonged to Palestinian investors and businesses.
