Israel needs to target Hezbollah on an economic level, ex-Mossad head says

Dr. Udi Levy, ex-head of Mossad's Economic Warfare, said that Israel should target Hezbollah's economic power to further weaken the terror organization in an interview with KAN on Tuesday.

"This concept asserts that the war is fought on an economic front, with intelligence gathered through financial tracking. It is possible to cripple countries, companies, and individuals, but as a nation, we have not fully grasped the power of this tool, leaving us behind in many areas," said Dr. Levy. 

Levy explained in the interview that money and the recruitment of more soldiers are central to the survival of terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.

"Without money, they cannot move anything within their system. It's no coincidence that Sinwar was found with tens of thousands of shekels in his possession. Activists don't move without money, and families don’t either." 

He continued: "After each rocket attack on southern Lebanon, Hezbollah immediately provides financial compensation to families whose homes were damaged."

Financial motivation

According to Levy, financial motivations play a crucial role in the motivation of poorer countries, and ideology alone isn’t necessarily their main driving focus. 

This was seen during the arrests of Hamas terrorists by Israel: "If you cut off the money, they won’t be able to carry out activities like digging tunnels. If you cut off Iran’s funding, it won’t be able to support these groups."

Dr. Levy explained that crime and drug trafficking are major funding sources for terrorist organizations. 

Hezbollah, in particular, gets its funds from two main sources: Iran and drug trafficking. The Gulf countries serve as main points for money flowing from Iran, with China also supporting them.

Levy stressed that Israel is not doing enough in the economic war, in the battle for public opinion, or in legal warfare. 

"We are investing almost no resources in these areas. Moreover, international cooperation is necessary for conducting an economic war, yet the world remains hypocritical on this issue. While many demands are made of Israel, the global community does not enforce sanctions on Iran or Lebanon, and it allows Hamas to operate in Europe."