Israel-Hamas: Biden warned new smoking ban could help fund Hamas' terror on Israel

Joe Biden has been warned that a major public health initiative in the US will inadvertently massively boost funding for Hamas terrorists slaughtering innocent civilians in Israel.

The US President yesterday condemned the terrorist assaults by Palestinians which have seen more than 1,200 Israelis killed, and hundreds more wounded and kidnapped.

Hamas terrorists filmed their actions and paraded dead Israeli bodies through Gaza City.

Already the President has been criticised for releasing $6billion in aid to the Palestinians which some believe has helped fund the atrocities.

But the President is now being warned that a proposed ban on menthols in America as part of the war on smoking could end up further lining the coffers of the Palestinian terror group and others.

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Menthols currently make up 40 percent of the US market for smokers and there are fears that it will see more people turn to illicit dealers.

Sources have pointed to a 2015 US State Department document drawn up for the Obama administration when Biden was Vice President, entitled “The Global Illicit Trade in Tobacco: A Threat to National Security.”

It quoted documents from 2004 which stated "cigarette smuggling in the US is part of a worldwide multibillion dollar crime phenomenon – with some smugglers having ties to international terrorist groups.

"According to...investigations and intelligence collected indicate cigarette smuggling is a significant problem [in the US], particularly the smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes.

"According to ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), illegal cigarette trafficking worldwide is a multibillion dollar a year crime phenomenon, with some cigarette smugglers having ties to terrorist groups."

In 2013 the New York Attorney Office warned: “Hamas has also used illicit tobacco smuggling in the U.S. to fund terrorism.

"For example, in New York, a massive eastern seaboard cigarette trafficking enterprise known as 'Operation Tobacco Road' was taken down by authorities in 2013, with many members linked to Hamas.”

Added to that it appears that another terrorist group Hezbollah which has attacked Israel from the north is also getting money from the illicit trade.

In 2021, Iranwire, after Biden entered the White House noted: "Highly profitable and low-risk, cigarette smuggling allows Hezbollah to obtain money in a more straightforward way to finance both political and terrorist activities."

In addition law enforcement experts have warned that banning cigarettes fuels the illicit trade.

In an article,  James D. Newman, retired Chief of the ATF National Academy, asked: "If the Biden administration believes that the illicit market for marijuana created social injustice, why is his administration fueling an even bigger illicit market through its tobacco policies?”

A Republican source told the Daily Express US: "Banning menthols would turbocharge the illicit cartel market to the benefit of cartels and terrorists. The Biden Administration would pay a heavy political price for driving revenue to Hamas and Hezbollah."

Politico revealed on July 18 that “the FDA is poised to finalize a rule banning menthol cigarettes — which make up nearly 40 percent of the market — in an effort to encourage smokers to quit.”

Daily Express US has approached the FDA and Biden administration for comment.