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Editors: Ilan Berman and Calla O'Neil
FINALLY, HAMAS IN FINANCIAL CRISIS
Nearly twenty months into its war with Israel, Hamas is now experiencing the most severe financial crisis in its history. The radical Palestinian movement is reportedly struggling to pay both civil servants and military personnel in Gaza. Funding for social services in territories under the group's control, as well as salaries for officials in its ministries, has now been largely suspended for nearly four months, and many employees have gone without wages altogether. Those that are lucky enough to continue to receive disbursements now reportedly get just 900 shekels ($250) monthly. The group's fighters have likewise not been paid for three months, and are facing military supply shortages.
The present fiscal crisis marks a sharp contrast to Hamas' financial position before its Oct. 7, 2023 terror campaign, when it reportedly received $15 million monthly in cash transfers from Qatar and held an estimated $500 million in reserves in Turkey. Since the resulting conflict began, however, Israeli restrictions on cash flows into Gaza have progressively strained the group's finances. (Yediot Ahronot, May 24, 2025)
BANGLADESHI ISLAMISTS COME IN FROM THE COLD
Back in 2013, Bangladesh formally revoked the registration of the country's ;argest Islamist political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, rendering it unable to stand for national elections. Back then, the country's judiciary based its decision on an earlier petition that claimed that the group did not believe in democracy or Bangladesh's sovereignty, and was instead intent on imposing sharia law in the South Asian state. Twelve years on, however, that decision has now been reversed. In late May, Bangladesh's Supreme Court formally ruled to annul the earlier ruling and reinstate the party. This step allows Jamaat-e-Islami to participate in the country's upcoming national elections, which are slated to take place between December 2025 and June 2026. (Bloomberg, June 1, 2025)
SYRIA'S FOREIGN JIHADISTS GET A NEW VOCATION
The Trump administration has reportedly given its blessing for Syria's new leadership to incorporate some 3,500 foreign jihadist former rebel fighters into a newly formed unit of the country's national army. Washington previously opposed the inclusion of foreign fighters in the security forces, citing the attendant security risks. But in the wake of President Trump's meeting with new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and a unilateral lifting of sanctions on Syria, the White House has reversed course and now provisionally supports their integration, provided it is done transparently. The step appears to be an effort to coopt these foreign fighters into official structures, to ensure they do not join the ranks of the Islamic State or other radicals, now that al-Sharaa's group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has assumed power in Damascus and is focused on domestic reconstruction and international outreach. (Reuters, June 2, 2025)
FRANCE RAISES THE ALARM
A new French government report has warned that the Muslim Brotherhood is trying to penetrate the country and subvert its institutions. The 73-page study makes the case that the country's branch of the Brotherhood, known as the Federation of Muslims of France (FMF), is "involved in republican infrastructure ... in order to change it from the inside." The study details that the FMF now controls or influences nearly 10 percent of the mosques in the country, as well as running nearly 300 sports, educational, or charity organizations and close to two-dozen schools. Its objective is to establish "ecosystems at a local level" that gradually impose strict Islamic norms on society at-large. "The reality of this threat, even if it is long term and does not involve violent action, poses a risk of damage to the fabric of society and republican institutions (...) and, more broadly, to national cohesion," the report warns.
The study has reignited a long-simmering debate on the Continent, where critics have warned that entrenched Islamist groups are actively trying to reshape Western societies in their own image. “France is now facing "below-the-radar Islamism trying to infiltrate institutions, whose ultimate aim is to tip the whole of French society under sharia law," French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has said. (Le Monde, May 21, 2025; BBC, May 21, 2025)
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