http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/terror-finance-flotilla
“The Terror Finance Flotilla”
“The convoy of ships allegedly trying to bring aid to the Gaza Strip was organized by a group belonging to an officially designated terrorist organization.”
BY JONATHAN SCHANZER
May 31, 2010 4:20 PM
SNIPPET: “The Turkish IHH (Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi in Turkish) was founded in 1992, and reportedly popped up on the CIA’s radar in 1996 for its radical Islamist leanings. Like many other Islamist charities, the IHH has a record of providing relief to areas where disaster has struck in the Muslim world.
However, the organization is not a force for good. The Turkish nonprofit belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization known to finance terrorism called the Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic). Notably, the Union is chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who is known best for his religious ruling that encourages suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. According to one report, Qardawi personally transferred millions of dollars to the Union in an effort to provide financial support to Hamas.
In 2008, the Israelis banned IHH, along with 35 other Islamist charities worldwide, for its ties to the Union of Good. This was a follow-on designation; Israelis first blocked the Union of Good from operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2002.”
SNIPPET: “The U.S. government, it should be noted, also views the Union of Good as a terrorist organization. On November 12, 2008, a press release from the U.S. Treasury announced the umbrella group’s leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT), stating that the group was “created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization.””
SNIPPET: “According to Treasury, Hamas’s leadership actually created the Union of Good in 2000—just after the launch of the armed campaign against Israel—as a means to transfer funds to Hamas. At the time of designation in 2008, the Treasury believed that the Union of Good was transferring “tens of millions of dollars a year” to Hamas-controlled entities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
As the Treasury release explained, “The Union of Good acts as a broker for Hamas by facilitating financial transfers between a web of charitable organizations—including several organizations previously designated… for providing support to Hamas—and Hamas-controlled organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. The primary purpose of this activity is to strengthen Hamas’ political and military position in the West Bank and Gaza.”
It gets worse. The Treasury, drawing from declassified documents, stated unequivocally that the Union of Good “compensated Hamas terrorists by providing payments to the families of suicide bombers.”
NOTE: “Jonathan Schanzer is a former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.”
Previously...
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/unionofgood/index?tab=articles
#
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2168627/posts
NEFA Foundation Report - “The Union of Good: A Global Muslim Brotherhood Hamas Fundraising Network”
COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org ^ | January 20, 2009 10:24 AM | By Evan Kohlmann
Posted on January 20, 2009 11:56:25 PM PST by Cindy
NEFA Foundation Report - “The Union of Good: A Global Muslim Brotherhood Hamas Fundraising Network” By Evan Kohlmann
The NEFA Foundation has released a new report by NEFA Senior Analyst Steve Merley titled, “The Union of Good: A Global Muslim Brotherhood Hamas Fundraising Network.” The Union of Good is a coalition of Islamic charities that provides financial support to both the Hamas “social” infrastructure, as well as its terrorist activities. It is headed by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, and most of the trustees and member organizations are associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood. The Union of Good was banned by Israel in 2002 and recently designated a terrorist entity by the United States, although neither Youssef Qaradawi nor any of the Trustees were similarly designated.
(Excerpt) Read more at counterterrorismblog.org ...
#
Previously...
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131693/posts
Treasury Designates the Union of Good
WWW.TREAS.GOV ^ | November 12, 2008 | The U.S. Department of The Treasury
Posted on November 13, 2008 3:47:41 PM PST by Cindy
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1267.htm
November 12, 2008 HP-1267
Treasury Designates the Union of Good
Washington, DC-The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated the Union of Good, an organization created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization.
“Terrorist groups such as Hamas continue to exploit charities to radicalize vulnerable communities and cultivate support for their violent activities,” said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “The U.S. Government will continue to expose and undermine the activities of charities working on behalf of Hamas and other terrorist groups. At the same time, we are working with the charitable sector to expand the range of legitimate alternatives for providing charitable assistance to the Palestinian people.”
Union of Good was designated today under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists, terrorist organizations, and those providing financial, technological, or material support to terrorists, terrorist organizations, or acts of terrorism. Any assets the Union of Good holds under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen and U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the Union of Good.
The leadership of Hamas created the Union of Good in late-2000, shortly after the start of the second Intifada, in order to facilitate the transfer of funds to Hamas. The Union of Good acts as a broker for Hamas by facilitating financial transfers between a web of charitable organizations—including several organizations previously designated under E.O. 13224 for providing support to Hamas—and Hamas-controlled organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. The primary purpose of this activity is to strengthen Hamas’ political and military position in the West Bank and Gaza, including by: (i) diverting charitable donations to support Hamas members and the families of terrorist operatives; and (ii) dispensing social welfare and other charitable services on behalf of Hamas.
Among the primary financiers of Union of Good projects are several organizations designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for providing support to Hamas and other terrorist groups, including the International Palestine Relief and Development Fund (Interpal), Al- Aqsa Foundation, Comite de Bienfaisance et de Secours aux Palestiniens (CBSP), the Association de Secours Palestiniens (ASP) of Switzerland, the Palestinian Association in Austria (PVOE), and the Sanabil Association for Relief and Development in Lebanon. The Union of Good facilitates the transfer of tens of millions of dollars a year to Hamas- managed associations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Funds raised by the Union of Good affiliates have been transferred to Hamas-managed organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. In addition to providing cover for Hamas financial transfers, some of the funds transferred by the Union of Good have compensated Hamas terrorists by providing payments to the families of suicide bombers. One of them, the Al-Salah Society, previously identified as a key support node for Hamas, was designated in August 2007 under E.O. 13224. The Society employed a number of members of the Hamas military wing and supported Hamas-affiliated combatants during the first Intifada.
The Union of Good’s executive leadership and board of directors includes Hamas leaders, Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), and other terrorist supporters. The secretary general of the Union of Good, for example, also acts as the vice-chairman of the United Kingdom-based Interpal, which was designated in 2003 for providing financial support to Hamas under the cover of charitable activity. As of mid-2007, this official served on the Hamas executive committee under Hamas leader Khaled Misha’al.
Board members of the Union of Good include a West Bank Hamas member, and Abd al Majid al-Zindani, a Yemen-based Hamas fundraiser who was designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 in 2004 for providing support to al-Qaida. In 2006, Zindani delivered a fundraising speech at a Hamas conference in Yemen where the crowd pledged millions of riyals for Hamas.
The United States is also actively working with the Arab-American community and other interested donors to provide alternate relief mechanisms to the Palestinian people as we take action against the HAMAS charitable infrastructure.
Identifying Information
UNION OF GOOD AKAs: Charity Coalition Coalition of Good I’tilaf Al-Khair I’tilaf Al-Khayr 101 Days Campaign Etelaf Al-Khair
Address: P.O. Box 136301, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 21313
-30-