L
Lance
Guest
This is great news!
In a landmark retrial Monday (Nov. 24) U.S. jurors convicted the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) and five of its leaders of sending millions of dollars to Hamas, [1] a terrorist group backed by Iran. At one point HLF was the largest Muslim charity organization operating in the U.S.
The verdict was a triumph for the Justice Department, marking the largest terrorism financing conviction in U.S. history. The U.S. government began investigating HLF 15 years ago and raided the organization’s Texas headquarters a few months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 in its crusade against domestic financiers of terrorism. The case was ruled a mistrial last year, but was retried after Justice Department prosecutors overhauled their case.
“For many years, the Holy Land Foundation used the guise of charity to raise and funnel millions of dollars to the infrastructure of the Hamas terror organization,” said Patrick Rowan, assistant attorney general for national security. “This prosecution demonstrates our resolve to ensure that humanitarian relief efforts are not used as a mechanism to disguise and enable support for terrorist groups.”
The convicted leaders—one of whom is the brother of Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal—face lengthy sentences for their roles in funneling approximately $12 million to Hamas. HLF’s chairman and chief executive officer each face life sentences, while two other defendants face 55-year prison terms. HLF must also pay the government $12.4 million.
According to the U.S. government, HLF funneled more than $12 million to Hamas since 1995, when it became illegal to fund Hamas. This money was used to support Palestinian schools that indoctrinated children, encouraging them to become suicide bombers, and to provide financial support to the families of suicide bombers.
In a landmark retrial Monday (Nov. 24) U.S. jurors convicted the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) and five of its leaders of sending millions of dollars to Hamas, [1] a terrorist group backed by Iran. At one point HLF was the largest Muslim charity organization operating in the U.S.
The verdict was a triumph for the Justice Department, marking the largest terrorism financing conviction in U.S. history. The U.S. government began investigating HLF 15 years ago and raided the organization’s Texas headquarters a few months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 in its crusade against domestic financiers of terrorism. The case was ruled a mistrial last year, but was retried after Justice Department prosecutors overhauled their case.
“For many years, the Holy Land Foundation used the guise of charity to raise and funnel millions of dollars to the infrastructure of the Hamas terror organization,” said Patrick Rowan, assistant attorney general for national security. “This prosecution demonstrates our resolve to ensure that humanitarian relief efforts are not used as a mechanism to disguise and enable support for terrorist groups.”
The convicted leaders—one of whom is the brother of Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal—face lengthy sentences for their roles in funneling approximately $12 million to Hamas. HLF’s chairman and chief executive officer each face life sentences, while two other defendants face 55-year prison terms. HLF must also pay the government $12.4 million.
According to the U.S. government, HLF funneled more than $12 million to Hamas since 1995, when it became illegal to fund Hamas. This money was used to support Palestinian schools that indoctrinated children, encouraging them to become suicide bombers, and to provide financial support to the families of suicide bombers.
