Israeli soldiers steal over $54m from Gaza bank: Report

Israeli soldiers seized 200 million shekels ($54.29 million) from the Bank of Palestine headquarters in Gaza City, according to an Israeli newspaper on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Maariv newspaper, citing Israeli officers, said a military force took the funds allocated for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority after coming under fire in al-Rimal neighborhood last week.

There was no comment from the Palestinian Authority or Hamas on the report.

“Israeli soldiers were at the Bank of Palestine headquarters in Gaza last week to prevent money from reaching Hamas,” an Israel military spokesman told Maariv, without providing further details.

He said this step “was decided at the political level.”