Overview
Jihad Muhammad Shaker Yaghmour is the U.S.-designated Hamas representative to Turkey. A senior official within the terror organization, he is responsible for facilitating activities for the terror group. The U.S. department of the Treasury designated Yaghmour as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on December 13, 2023.“U.S. And UK Target Additional Hamas Finance Officials and Representatives,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 13, 2023, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1981.
Yaghmour is from the Beit Hanina neighborhood in east Jerusalem. “Turkey as a Terrorism-Sponsoring State,” Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, December 14, 2019, https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/app/uploads/2019/12/E_278_19.pdf. Yaghmour’s nefarious activities began in the early 1990s when he was implicated in the Hamas-coordinated abduction of IDF soldier Nahshon Waxman in 1994. Although sentenced to life imprisonment by an Israeli court in October 1994, he was exiled to Turkey in 2011 as part of a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel for the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. In exchange for Hamas’s release of Shalit, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.“U.S. And UK Target Additional Hamas Finance Officials and Representatives,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 13, 2023, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1981; Ben Quinn, “Gilad Shalit freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners,” Guardian (London), October 18, 2011, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/18/gilad-shalit-palestine-prisoners-freed.
Yaghmour was first referred to as Hamas’s representative to Turkey in 2019 when he accompanied Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, on a trip to Turkey. In his role, Yaghmour liaises between Hamas, the Turkish government, and the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT), reportedly communicating with the latter organization on a near daily basis.“Turkey as a Terrorism-Sponsoring State,” Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, December 14, 2019, https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/app/uploads/2019/12/E_278_19.pdf. According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Information Center, Yaghmour has also been involved in the coordination of terror squads in the West Bank.“Turkey as a Terrorism-Sponsoring State,” Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, December 14, 2019, https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/app/uploads/2019/12/E_278_19.pdf.
Yaghmour is president of the Association of Jerusalem and Our History, a Turkish cultural organization he reportedly uses as a cover for his political and operational activities in support of Hamas.“Turkey as a Terrorism-Sponsoring State,” Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, December 14, 2019, https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/app/uploads/2019/12/E_278_19.pdf.
On December 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Yaghmour as an SDGT by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for his continued support and expansion of the violent extremist group. Yaghmour was designated along with seven other Hamas supporters and officials who are accused of financing and organizing Hamas’s activities.“U.S. And UK Target Additional Hamas Finance Officials and Representatives,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 13, 2023, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1981. In response to the designations, Hamas condemned the sanctions as a collusion between American and British governments with “the Zionist entity,” referring to Israel.“Press Statement,” Hamas Online Telegram Channel, December 13, 2023. Hamas further claimed the designations would “not deter the Hamas movement from continuing its duty to defend the legitimate national rights of our Palestinian people.”“Press Statement,” Hamas Online Telegram Channel, December 13, 2023.
Associated Groups
- Extremist entity
- Hamas
- Read Threat Report
- Type(s) of Organization:
- Political, religious, social service provider, terrorist, violent
- Ideologies and Affiliations:
- Islamist, jihadist, Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated group, pan-Islamist, Qutbist, Sunni
- Position(s):
- Official representative to Turkey
Hamas is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization which has killed hundreds of Israeli citizens, as well as Americans, in suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks. Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since it violently expelled the Palestinian Authority in 2007.
History
United States
On December 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated “Jihad Muhammad Shaker Yaghmour” as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.“U.S. And UK Target Additional Hamas Finance Officials and Representatives,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 13, 2023, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1981.
Daily Dose
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
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