Hamas was able to fund its terror army and massive attack on October 7 thanks to a man dubbed "the CEO of Hamas," according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The "CEO" in question is Zaher Jabarin, the man responsible for Hamas' financial relationship with its Iranian patrons and for ensuring that Iranian money reaches Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Former Israeli security official Uzi Shaya told the Journal that “Jabarin played a huge role because he handles all of Hamas finance outside Gaza" and that “Jabarin is the CEO of Hamas.”
Jabarin's efforts have built a real estate empire worth an estimated half-billion dollars and have brought hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas in recent years, according to US assessments, and it is believed that the October 7 massacre might not have been possible without the finances he provided.
To get around Western sanctions for terror financing, Jabarin operated in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Turkey, where he has lived for the last few years. He directly financed terrorist attacks in Jude and Samaria.
The US imposed sanctions on Jabarin in 2019 for terrorist financing and money laundering.
He was a close friend to Saleh al-Arouri, the second-highest-ranked official in Hamas, who was killed in an explosion in Beirut on Tuesday.
According to the report, the massive international financial empire Jabarin built for Hamas may remain even if the terrorist organization's rule in Gaza is completely destroyed, leaving Hamas with plenty of resources to rebuild.
Jabarin was one of over 1,000 terrorists who were released as part of the deal to free Gilad Shalit in 2011 following his conviction for the murder of an IDF soldier and was one of many of those freed terrorists who returned to terrorism following that deal.
He has also been involved in Hamas' attempts to free other terrorists held in Israeli prisons and in the negotiations to exchange the hostages Hamas kidnapped on October 7 for convicted terrorists in Israeli prisons.
Matthew Levitt, a former U.S. Treasury official now of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that Jabarin occupies "a position of serious trust and authority" in the Hamas organization.