 |
 |
 |
|
|
JW VICTORY: BUSH ADMINISTRATION FINALLY TARGETS HAMAS Acting on a complaint filed by JW, the Bush Administration finally moved to freeze the assets of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a Texas-based non-profit front group for the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas. The action came nearly three months after Judicial Watch had provided evidence of Holy Land’s terrorist connections, and three days after Hamas suicide bombers murdered 25 Israelis, possibly with the help of Holy Land funds. “If there’s one lesson we should have learned from September 11 attacks it is that we can’t afford to wait for bombs to explode before we take action,” said JW Chairman Larry Klayman. “If you play politics with terrorist organizations, you lose.” Indeed, the delay in the Administration’s decision to crack down on the Holy Land Foundation was certainly not due to a lack of evidence of the organization’s activities. Holy Land’s founder, Musa Abu Marzouk, has been on the State Department’s list of terrorists for years. He was arrested in 1995 and then deported to Jordan. Since that time, Holy Land has grown into the largest Muslim related charity in the United States, raising millions of dollars to support terrorist activities overseas. Marzouk alone has received at least $200,000 from the Holy Land Foundation to train suicide bombers for attacks on Israel. The U.S. government has investigated the Holy Land Foundation since 1996, and has known of the organization’s ties to Marzouk and Hamas for at least that long. So, why, despite the government’s own evidence and warnings from Judicial Watch, did the Bush Administration wait so long to target the Holy Land Foundation? The delay was likely due to political pressure from Arab countries considered critical to the U.S. led war in Afghanistan. Colin Powell’s State Department warned that a move to target Yasser Arafat’s supporters could “jeopardize” the war effort. Hamas was therefore ignored. After the suicide bombings, however, the White House had no choice but to act. Not only did the Administration freeze the organization’s assets, but federal agents also raided the Holy Land Foundation’s offices in search of further evidence of their activities. “We’re gratified the Administration finally responded to our request to shut down the financial structure of Hamas,” said JW President Tom Fitton. “But there are 19 other organizations identified by Judicial Watch for the Administration. We certainly hope it doesn’t take another rash of bombings for the Administration to take strong swift action against them.” Among the other groups identified by Judicial Watch is the Islamic African Relief Agency of Columbia, Missouri, an organization that has been linked to bin Laden’s attacks on U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 8, 1998.
info@judicialwatch.org • 1-888-JW-ETHIC
Site hosting and technology by Cory Consulting, Inc. © 1997-2004, Judicial Watch, Inc., All rights reserved. |
