Muhammad Qassem Sawalha, a reputed Hamas leader, has reportedly been residing in a government-subsidised home in Barnet, a London borough with the highest Jewish population in Britain.
This revelation was made in a Sunday Times report.
Sawalha, 62, is said to have been granted a discount of approximately $136,500 on a two-story house valued at nearly $390,000. The property, complete with a garden and garage, is situated less than 10 minutes from two synagogues in Barnet.
The alleged Hamas operative fled to the UK in the 1990s using a relative's passport and subsequently acquired British citizenship. Despite his relocation, Sawalha reportedly continued his activities for Hamas remotely, holding clandestine meetings to discuss the "revitalisation" of terrorist acts in Israel. He is also accused of aiding the terror group in money laundering, as per a 2004 indictment by the US Department of Justice.
Sawalha and his wife, Sawsan, 56, purchased their home in June 2021 under Britain's Right to Buy scheme.
Barnet, the borough where the couple's home is located, is home to approximately 56,616 Jewish residents, accounting for about a fifth of the UK's total Jewish population, as per the Office for National Statistics.
Barry Rawlings, the borough's leader, expressed his shock at the revelation, stating, "I was horrified to think [Sawalha] could be living in our midst." He has initiated a review and pledged to collaborate with the police and government to scrutinise the case's history and take appropriate action.
In 2009, Sawalha signed a notorious declaration praising Allah for having "routed the Zionist Jews," and called for arms to be sent to Gaza and a "Third Jihadist Front" to be established in the West Bank.
A 2019 report by Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs alleged that Sawalha was Hamas' "representative in the UK" and was responsible for its foreign relations during his tenure on Hamas' politburo from 2013 to 2017.
The UK declared Hamas' military wing a terrorist organisation in 2001, but it wasn't until 2021 that the political wing received the same designation. The UK government declared that any distinction between Hamas' various branches was "artificial."
In 2020, Lawyers for Israel in the UK reported Sawalha's background to counterterrorism police. An investigation is currently underway to determine if his tenancy violated sanctions.
When approached by The Times, Sawalha's lawyers refuted the allegations, stating, "Mr Sawalha is a law-abiding British citizen."
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