Funding Terrorism: campaign of a jihadi organization operating in the Gaza Strip to raise funds in Bitcoin - The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Overview

The Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem, a jihadi organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda which operates in the Gaza Strip, recently renewed a campaign to raise funds in the Bitcoin virtual currency. According to the organization’s announcement, the donations are intended to provide the organization fighters with weapons and equipment (the cost of obtaining weapons for one fighter is estimated by the organization at $2,000). A poster published by the organization includes the address of a virtual wallet, an email address, and the address of a Twitter account for the donors. The campaign does not specify what weapons are referred to, but a previous campaign (May-June 2018) mentioned antitank missiles and rockets of various types.

The campaign is part of efforts made by the terrorist organizations to solicit donations in Bitcoin. Initiatives to raise funds in Bitcoin were made during recent months by ISIS^[1] and terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip (Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees^[2]). At this stage, the ITIC is unclear about the effectiveness of this form of fundraising. However, the ongoing appeals by the terrorist organizations and the fact that new organizations are joining in may indicate that the terrorist organizations still regard this method as a convenient means to raise funds without supervision by the banking system and the law enforcement agencies.

The current fundraising campaign of the Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem

On May 5, 2019, the Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem,^[3] a jihadi organization operating in the Gaza Strip, launched a campaign to raise funds in Bitcoin. The purpose of the campaign, according to a poster published by the organization on the Telegram social media, is to equip jihad fighters with weapons and military equipment. Equipping a jihad fighter for battle, according to the poster published by the organizations, is estimated at the sum of $2,000 (Telegram, May 5, 2019).

The address of a virtual wallet appears at the bottom of the poster, alongside the Bitcoin symbol, so that donors can deposit the money. The address of the virtual wallet is a41d56d7-ec3a-4747-a0c2-07cfd7046a32. The poster also includes an email address (omma.ps@mail.com) as well as an address of a Twitter account (@Omma_ps), requesting donors to “contact us.” These are addresses of a fundraising campaign which is renewed from time to time.

The poster of the Army of the Nation for raising funds in Bitcoin

Emblem of the Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem (top left); Masked fighter on the background of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock (bottom right); Hadith (tradition) of the Prophet Muhammad calling on the believers to prepare and equip a fighter going on a raid for the sake of Allah as part of jihad (center). Below are the address of the virtual wallet, the organization’s email address, and the address of a Twitter account (Telegram, May 5, 2019)

The text in the center of the poster reads, “My Muslim brother, take part with us, even a small part, in equipping a fighter of jihad for the sake of Allah with weapons and [military] equipment. [This is] in view of the siege imposed on jihad fighters, and the lack of their [basic] needs to carry out jihad for the sake of Allah. Remember that this is a major virtue to give charity in this blessed way.” Then, a text in a red frame reads, “The donation cost for equipping a jihad fighter is $2,000.”^[4]

Launching the previous campaign in May-June 2018

In May 2018, the organization launched a Bitcoin campaign under the name “Prepare/Equip a [jihad] fighter” (Al-Raya Foundation website, June 6, 2018). In June 2018, the campaign was apparently stopped. Later, it was launched again.

Poster from June 2018 as part of the campaign “Prepare/Equip a [jihad] fighter” (Al-Raya Foundation website, June 6, 2018)

As part of the campaign, an anti-Semitic statement was published, with a quote of Sheikh Abd al-Hamid Badis (a cleric who promoted political Islam in Algeria; he died in 1940). The quote reads: “So long as Zionists control power and money, and so long as Palestinians control protest and talks, woe to Palestine from those who talk and do nothing.” Then there is a reference to an address of a virtual wallet for donations in Bitcoin (Al-Raya Foundation website, May 15, 2019).

Use of Bitcoin for raising funds (February 2019)

On February 20, 2019, researcher Ayman Jawad al-Tamimi, who studies Islamic movements, published an article based on correspondence that he conducted with a (probably senior) figure in the organization of the Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem. At the end of the correspondence, Al-Tamimi raised the question “How can Muslims of the [Islamic] Nation assist you in your efforts?” The answer given by this figure was, “We have a campaign under the name “Prepare/Equip a [jihad] fighter”. The campaign has been going on for a long time, until it became a permanent account, renewed once or twice a year on social media. This campaign is still being handled through constant addresses, including e-mail, [a] Telegram [account] and a digital currency – Bitcoin. The details are as follows:

E-mail: omma.ps@mail.com

Telegram: @Omma_ps

Bitcoin: a41d56d7-ec3a-4747-a0c2-07cfd7046a32

(Note: The e-mail address and the address of the virtual wallet mentioned in Al-Tamimi’s article appeared also in May-June 2018 and once again in May 2019).

Screenshot from Ayman al-Tamimi’s article

Appendix A

Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem – Overview

The Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem is one of the jihadi organizations operating in the Gaza Strip. These organizations are under strict supervision by the Hamas movement, which regards them as challenging its control and as a source of uncontrollable terrorist activity against Israel or Egypt.
The organization was established in 2005 under the name “Army of the Nation” (“Jaysh al-Ummah”)^[5]. In 2002, it merged with a Salafi organization called Salafi Youth Coalition – Palestine. The newly formed organization was called Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem. The organization is affiliated with Al-Qaeda, even though it did not pledge allegiance to Al-Qaeda leader Al-Zawahiri. The organization embraces the implementation of Islamic religious law (Sharia), jihad against Israel, and the establishment of an Islamic caliphate (according to the blog of researcher Ayman Jawad al-Tamimi, February 20, 2019).

Right: Emblem of the organization, which is the flag of jihad: a sword symbolizing jihad, with the Shahada (the declaration which is the obligation of every Muslim: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger”). The text below reads, “Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem.” Left: Emblem of Al-Raya, the official media foundation of the Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem. The emblem shows a mosque minaret and a flag with the Shahada (Telegram, May 5, 2019)

In January 2017, the Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem praised the car-ramming attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv, which was carried out by a terrorist named Fadi Qanbar, resident of Jabal Mukabbir, who was affiliated with jihadi Salafism. In the ramming attack, which was carried out on January 8, 2017, four Israeli soldiers were killed and 15 others were wounded. At the time, several jihadi Salafist networks in the Gaza Strip issued announcements praising the operation. According to one of those announcements, the terrorist who carried out the operation belonged to ISIS.^[6]

Notice on behalf of the Salafi Army of the Nation in Jerusalem, in which the organization praised the ramming attack in Armon Hanatziv. The organization called on the brothers in the West Bank and “inside” (Israeli territory, i.e., Israeli Arabs) to carry out more terrorist attacks of this kind. The text at the bottom of the notice reads, “Fight the Jews in jihad by the rock, the knife, and Molotov cocktails, by a ramming attack, by a gun, by sniper fire, by IEDs and by suicide bombing attacks” (http://www.onlinejihadexposed.com, January 26, 2017)