If Hamas and its allies are truly committed to building a peaceful Gaza then, along with relinquishing its arms in Gaza, Hamas should liquidate its assets overseas.
While Israel most certainly has every right to lay claim to these assets as partial compensation, the move would be more palatable for Hamas and its allies if the proceeds went towards funding the removal of rubble from Gaza.
The timeline below relates to all the Hamas assets in Turkey and shows ranges of time reflecting different assets.
It can be expected that a considerable sum of money could already be transferred within five months.
This would fit the schedule if the implementation of the rubble removing program is made contingent on the completion of the complete disarmament of Hamas and the other terror groups in Gaza.
This plan is to liquidate approximately US $200-300 million in Turkish-registered companies and real-estate holdings beneficially owned by Hamas or Hamas-designated individuals, and to transfer the net liquidation proceeds to an international escrow account (Board of Peace-managed Gaza Reconstruction Trust), without:
- designating Hamas as a terrorist organization under Turkish law,
- invoking coercive seizure authorities (Law 6415 / Law 3713), or
- triggering adversarial criminal proceedings.
This plan relies entirely on voluntary civil/commercial procedures, consistent with the Turkish Commercial Code (TCC 6102), the Financial Crimes Law (5549), and the Foreign Direct Investment Law (4875), combined with one unavoidable political authorization for the final transfer.
The $250 million voluntarily liquidated from Hamas’s Turkish assets becomes the first-loss seed equity that allows the World Bank and Arab sponsors to issue a $1-1.5 billion Gaza Recovery Bond at investment-grade rates. For the first four to six years, debt service is securely covered by a pre-committed Gulf “solidarity top-up” ($80-120 million per year shared by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar), a small earmarked Palestinian Arab clearance revenue, and early rubble-processing proceeds - none of which requires new political decisions once the bond is signed.
Beginning around year four, commercial recycling of Gaza’s 68 million tons of rubble generates $180-250 million annually at realistic throughput and market prices, fully replacing the Gulf top-up. Verified carbon credits from avoided CO₂ emissions add a further $40-60 million per year as a conservative cushion. In effect, Hamas’s Turkish assets de-risks the entire structure, limits Gulf involvement to a short and contractually locked bridge, and then lets Gaza’s own destroyed buildings pay private investors to clear themselves - with no further donor or taxpayer money required after the initial phase.
Here are details of the plan for the Hamas assets in Turkey:
I. Legal Mechanism
Core Legal Vehicle
Voluntary corporate dissolution under:
- TCC Arts. 529-548 (Joint-stock companies - A.Ş.)
- TCC Art. 643 (Limited-liability companies - Ltd. Şti., applying A.Ş. rules)
Regulatory Verification
Non-criminal AML/CFT review by MASAK under Law 5549 (information requests, compliance review).
International Outbound Transfer
Under FDI Law No. 4875, Art. 3, liquidation proceeds may be freely transferred abroad after tax, AML, and FX compliance, with political authorization required in high-visibility cases.
II. Step-by-Step Process
Step 1. Notarized dissolution resolution + liquidator appointment
Action: Hamas-controlled shareholders issue a notarized general assembly resolution approving voluntary dissolution and appointing liquidators (standard practice: at least one Turkish resident).
Responsible Institution: Notary Public → Trade Registry (MERSİS)
Legal Basis: TCC Arts. 529, 540
Realistic Timeline: 3-10 days
Step 2. Registration of dissolution + UBO disclosure to MASAK
Action: File resolution and liquidator details; provide full beneficial-ownership documentation to MASAK upon request for AML compliance.
Responsible Institution: Trade Registry + MASAK
Legal Basis: TCC Art. 540; Law 5549 Art. 17
Realistic Timeline: 1-3 weeks
Step 3. Creditor notifications in Trade Registry Gazette
Action: Three consecutive announcements (7 days apart) published in Türkiye Ticaret Sicili Gazetesi; statutory creditor objection period begins.
Under TCC 543,
- Known creditors receive a minimum 3-week call period.
- For unknown creditors, the one-year waiting period may be shortened only if the liquidator provides adequate security for potential claims, subject to court oversight.
Responsible Institution: Trade Registry Gazette
Legal Basis: TCC Art. 543
Realistic Timeline: Minimum 3 weeks (typically 4-6 weeks depending on creditor security requirements)
Step 4. Liquidation operations
Action: Liquidator prepares opening balance sheet, sells assets, settles legitimate debts, and fulfills tax obligations.
Responsible Institution: Liquidator (overseen by Trade Registry)
TCC Arts. 541-545
Realistic Timeline: 3-9 months (simple) / up to 12 months (real-estate heavy)
Step 5. Tax clearance certificate
Action: Revenue Administration confirms all corporate taxes, VAT, and withholding taxes paid.
Responsible Institution: Revenue Administration (GİB / Vergi Dairesi)
Legal Basis: Tax Procedure Law No. 213
Realistic Timeline: 2-6 weeks (parallel to Step 4)
Step 6. MASAK AML verification / no-objection
Action: Revised for accuracy:
MASAK reviews the liquidation transactions for AML/CFT compliance and raises no objections, allowing the liquidation to proceed to final distribution.
Responsible Institution: MASAK
Legal Basis: Law 5549 Art. 5; FATF Rec. 4
Realistic Timeline: 2-6 weeks
Step 7. Final general assembly + authorization of proceeds transfer
Action: Shareholders approve the closing balance sheet and authorize transfer of net proceeds to the Gaza Reconstruction Trust escrow account.
Responsible Institution: Notarized minutes → Trade Registry
Legal Basis: TCC Art. 547
Realistic Timeline: 1 week
Step 8. Presidential Decision / Cabinet instruction
Action: This step is political, not statutory, but is practically required for high-visibility transfers involving foreign entities.
The decision frames the transfer as “humanitarian assistance to Gaza” and ensures interagency alignment (Treasury, MASAK, MFA, TCMB, Trade Registry).
Published in Resmi Gazete, e.g.:
“Filistin’e İnsani Yardım Kapsamında Yapılacak Transferler Hakkında Karar.”
Responsible Institution: Presidency / Council of Ministers
Legal Basis: Administrative practice (2023-2025 precedent)
Realistic Timeline: 2-8 weeks
Step 9. Outward transfer processed
Action: Central Bank receives documentation for transfers above reporting thresholds; executes SWIFT payment to the UN/World Bank escrow.
Responsible Institution: Central Bank of Turkey (TCMB)
Legal Basis: FX Communiqué 2022-32/66
Realistic Timeline: 1-3 days
Step 10. Final deregistration
Action: Company removed from the commercial registry.
Responsible Institution: Trade Registry
Legal Basis: TCC Art. 548
Realistic Timeline:1 week
III. Realistic Total Timeline
- Best-case (simple portfolio, no objections): 5-7 months
- Normal case (real-estate holdings): 8-10 months
- Complex but cooperative: up to 12 months
IV. Key Advantages
- 100% civil/commercial - no terrorism designation required.
- No coercive seizure or freezing - fully voluntary and shareholder-driven.
- Creditor protections built-in (Registry Gazette announcements + security option).
- Liquidation proceeds qualify as “liquidation returns” → free transfer under FDI Law Art. 3 after compliance.
- Only one political step (Presidential Decision), easily framed domestically as humanitarian assistance.
- Entire process auditable by MASAK, the Court of Accounts (Sayıştay), and the international escrow trustee.
V. Conclusion
This plan is:
- statutorily accurate,
- procedurally compliant,
- politically realistic,
- defensible in Turkish courts,
- aligned with MASAK and Trade Registry practice, and
- operationally implementable within 5-12 months.
If Hamas signs the notarized dissolution resolutions tomorrow, the first funds could lawfully and transparently reach the Gaza Reconstruction Trust before the end of 2026-using Hamas’s own money to begin clearing Gaza’s rubble, without Turkey ever having to designate Hamas a terrorist organization.
This is the clean, fast, and practically politically viable path if there is a genuine transformation in Gaza.
Dr. Aaron Lerner is head of IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis - since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on Arab-Israeli relations