Israelis close 'Hamas charity'

[major.tom]

from link

[faceless]

In case anyone doesn't know - this is the charity (Interpal) which GG gave his appearance money from Celebrity Big Brother to, so I'm sure the rabid hoardes of Israeli supporters will be salivating at the idea that he supports 'terrorists'.

[major.tom]

I wasn't aware of the connection, so thanks for laying it out.

When I first read the article, I was amazed what passes for "terrorist infrastructure" these days: schools and charities. The article seemed to disappear from the "recent articles" pretty quickly (< 1 day) which aroused my suspicion on its newsworthiness.

[major.tom]

They're not letting up. (link)

[faceless]

If you can't beat someone, why not cause them to be poverty-stricken? It's entirely fair and reasonable behaviour (in the world of fucking bastardry).

[luke]

they are just continuing the agenda set by the first israeli prime minster ben gurion when he said "we will treat them [ the palestinians ] like dogs, then whoever wishes to leave will leave" - i think the israelis still think the same way, you know, if we can make life as unbearable as possible, the palestinians will up and move

[nekokate]

Does this mean that all donations to INTERPAL now go in the back pocket of the Israeli government? I wonder how many people with Direct Debits set up are aware of the situation.

[major.tom]

That's an interesting question, nekokate. It reminds me about the tens of millions of $ stolen from Palestinian banks in Israeli raids on numerous occasions. I wonder what's come of that money. The 1st one I recall dates back to when Arafat was besieged in his compound (the Muqata).

Feb, 2004:

link #1
link #2
link #3

Sept, 2006:

link #1

[major.tom]

Round 3:

link

[faceless]

They may as well have a skull and crossbones for a flag.

(that's one for the conspiracy enthusiasts!)

[faceless]

Israeli settlers beat Palestinian teacher and tie him to pole

Hebron – Ma'an – A mob of Israeli settlers attacked 30-year-old Midhat Abu Karsh, a Palestinian teacher from the southern West Bank village of As-Samu' south of Hebron on Saturday.

Abu Karsh was hit in the head with sharp objects before he was dragged to a nearby settlement outpost where he was tied to an electricity pole. Eyewitnesses affirmed that four Israeli settlers struck Abu Karsh with clubs until his head began to bleed. He remained tied to the pole until an Israeli patrol came and untied him in order to administer first aid. Shortly after, Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances evacuated the teacher to the 'Alya Hospital in Hebron.

According to Abdul-Majid Al-Badarin, member of the local committee for defending lands at As-Samu', Israeli soldiers prevented local residents from accessing the injured teacher, and the ambulance had tried to reach him for two hours before it was allowed through. The assault against Abu Karsh coincided with a rally in the neighborhood organized by local farmers, foreign and Israeli activists demanding that farmers have access to their agricultural lands. During that rally, Israeli forces arrested 21-year-old Mahran Abu Karsh (a relative of the beaten man) and another boy aged 13 who was released after protest.

Local residents accused settlers of setting fire to 15 dunums (15,000 square meters) of wheat in southern As Samu'. They mentioned that one Israeli settler is currently building a settlement outpost two kilometers from the Israeli settlement of Sham'a. The settler has been opening fire on Palestinian farmers when they came to tend their fields.

SOURCE

[faceless]

George Galloway's charity Interpal back under police glare
Richard Kerbaj
www.timesonline.co.uk

A British charity that distributes aid in the Palestinian territories and is backed by George Galloway, the Respect MP, is at the centre of a police investigation in Australia. Interpal, a London-based aid network set up in the early 1990s to provide healthcare to refugees in the West Bank, was investigated by the Charity Commission in 1996 and in 2003 after allegations that it was supporting the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas but was cleared on both occasions. However, it is currently being investigated by the commission for a third time.

It was banned in the US in 2003 on the ground that it was using its global humanitarian missions as a cover for generating money on behalf of Hamas and was outlawed in Australia in 2003 for allegedly being linked to terrorist activities.

Interpal's legal representatives applied to the Australian Government to have its proscription revoked in June 2004 but on August 12, 2005, the request was rejected by Alexander Downer, the Australian Foreign Minister at the time.

Interpal is now the subject of a police inquiry, with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigating the group's affiliation with Muslim Aid Australia (MAA), a prominent charity that admitted channelling aid to the Palestinian territories through the banned organisation - a criminal offence under the Charter of the United Nations Act for Australian individuals or groups. The AFP's inquiry led to the MAA headquarters in Sydney being raided in July.

Mr Galloway nominated Interpal, also known as the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund, as his charity of choice when he appeared in the television reality show Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, raising more than £300,000. He defended his Interpal donation when he was contacted by The Times. “I chose to nominate Interpal because it was and is putting food in the mouths of starving children in Gaza when other charities have pulled out,” he said.

Hamas, which emerged in 1987 as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has political, social and military wings. Its military wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades, which has been responsible for numerous suicide attacks in Israel, was banned by the Home Office in 2001.

A Charity Commission spokeswoman said its current inquiry was examining whether Interpal had any “indirect” links to Hamas. “The scope of the investigation includes concerns about the potential for indirect and inappropriate links between the charity and organisations or individuals who appear to support the militant or terrorist activities of Hamas and the connected duties and responsibilities of the trustees,” she said. She would not say when the inquiry results would be revealed.

An Interpal staff member, who did not want to be named, told The Times he was confident that the group would be cleared by the Charity Commission. “From the evidence that we have presented them, I feel confident that they don't have any evidence [against us],” he said. “We are now just waiting for the results, which are expected to be released soon.”

According to the US Treasury Department list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons, Interpal is also known by 13 other names.

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[Brown Sauce]

chiselin' bastards

[faceless]

Net catches Lloyds TSB in charity account row
Martin Waller: City Diary
The Times

Lloyds TSB is under attack from various Islamic organisations for allegedly trying to close the account of Interpal, an at times controversial charity that gives aid to Palestinians and has links with George Galloway, the Respect MP.

Various websites have a copy of a letter of complaint to be sent to Lloyds' City head office, with the name of the relevant employee. Alternatively, they give the e-mail address for Eric Daniels, the chief executive. The suggestion is that the bank has requested the Islamic Bank of Britain to close Interpal's account. “Another case of guilty until proved innocent,” one site observes. “We never comment on individual client relationships and we can't comment on our relationship with the Islamic Bank,” a spokeswoman for Lloyds said. She would not say whether the bank has a relationship with Interpal.

The organisation says that it is a “non-political, non-profit-making British charity”, helping poor and needy Palestinians. Mr Galloway donated money to it that he made appearing on Celebrity Big Brother. The charity has been investigated and cleared twice by the Charity Commission over allegations, which it denies, that it has links with Islamic militants. But the American authorities labelled it a “specially designated global terrorist” in 2003 and it parted company with NatWest last year.

[luke]

http://www.petitiononline.com/FOSISPal/petition.html