via Treasury Designation Latest of Hamas Challenges :: The Investigative Project on Terrorism.
The Treasury Department announced Thursday that it designated two Lebanese-based charities which help fund Hamas.
Al-Waqfiya Al-Ri’aya Al-Usra Al-Filistinya
Al-Lubnanya and the Al-Quds International Foundation, both Beirut
based, were targeted by the designation, which makes it illegal for
people in the United States from doing any business with them. The
groups are controlled by Hamas and raise money for relatives of Hamas
terrorists and prisoners, along with other projects in the Palestinian
territories aimed at boosting Hamas’s standing.
Al-Waqfiya is described as “a central
component of the Union of Good” in the Treasury announcement. The Union
of Good was designated in 2008 and is led by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Muslim Brotherhood theologian.
“The Treasury Department will
continue to work to disrupt Hamas’s efforts to radicalize vulnerable
communities and undermine regional stability,” said Treasury
Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen.
“Today’s action represents another step in our effort to ensure that
charitable fronts are not used to finance terrorism.”
The designation comes amid difficult times for Hamas. A Washington Times column
notes that its cause is being lost amid Arab Spring activity,
especially the bloody battle for control of Syria. By siding with
opposition leaders against dictator Bashar al-Assad, who along with his
late father have allowed Hamas to operate out of Damascus, the group has
alienated some supporters, including Iran which has financed Hamas for
years.
And Human Rights Watch issued a 43-page report
Wednesday detailing a pattern of abuse and torture of prisoners in
Hamas custody in Gaza, “including arbitrary arrest, incommunicado
detention, torture, and unfair trials.” Hamas, which seized power in
Gaza in 2007, “executed at least three men convicted on the basis of
‘confessions’ apparently obtained under torture,” a Human Rights Watch release said.
There were 147 complaints of torture by Hamas police agencies last year alone.
Human Rights Watch called on the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood – Hamas’s parent organization – to rein in the abuse.
“There is ample evidence that Hamas
security services are torturing people in custody with impunity and
denying prisoners their rights,” said Joe Stork, the group’s deputy
Middle East director. “The Gaza authorities should stop ignoring the
abuse and ensure that the justice system respects Palestinians’ rights.”
More schizophrenia from the U.S. government who has worked with
the Muslim Brotherhood, invited MB members to the White House, provided
them significant funding, yet designates those who fund a wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, as terror groups. If you sanction Hamas, how do you not sanction its parent organization, and its U.S. wing – CAIR?
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