Ramallah: The Israeli military raided in the early morning hours at least 20 foreign exchange bureaus across major West Bank cities.

According to various news reports, money exchanges in Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus and Ramallah, were raided on claims that they were funneling money to Hamas from hostile organizations towards Israel, namely from Iran and Hezbollah. The Israeli army also tried to invade the Jordan National Bank in Nablus, but was unable to break into the premises. Six million Israeli shekels were reportedly confiscated in the operation.

MIFTAH spoke to Mr. Khaled Al Hawari, of Al Hawari Exchange in Ramallah, earlier today. He said that at around 3 a.m., Israeli soldiers broke into his shop, destroyed the furniture of his office, and turned it upside down. They confiscated his files, computer and the entire contents of the safe. He declined to comment on the amount of money seized. "I hope the Israeli government checks my computer thoroughly, so that they may see I do not deal with terrorism," Mr. Al Hawari said.

Money exchange bureaus are private businesses that flourished under years of Israeli occupation in lieu of banks. Banks in the Palestinian Territories were established with the creation of the Palestinian Authority in the mid-1990s.