HLF Trial Exposes Close Financial Ties Between HLF and Marzook

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

FBI Agent Lara Burns’ testimony continued Wednesday morning, as prosecutors introduced bank records to expose close financial ties between the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and HAMAS leader Musa Abu Marzook, (in the news today for denouncing a planned September peace conference between Israelis and Palestinians) as well as the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) , United Association for Studies and Research (UASR) , and Infocom – all U.S.- based who acted on behalf of HAMAS.

Payments by Marzook to HLF started in 1988 and ended in 1992, a year when Marzook transferred two $100,000 payments to HLF within ten days. Agent Burns testified before the jury that during this time, Marzook was not employed.

Lead prosecutor Jim Jacks introduced evidence showing that Marzook also transferred over a one million dollars to UASR, IAP and Infocom, as well as tens of thousands to the defendants Mohammad El Mezain, Shukri Abu Baker, Ghassan Elashi during this same period.

HLF itself also paid almost $250,000 to IAP between 1989 and 2001, and over $400,000 to Infocom between 1990 and 2001.***

According to Agent Burns’ testimony, of HLF’s total 1988 expenditures, about 52% went to individuals or entities associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1989, 30% of total HLF expenditures went to the Muslim Brotherhood, while 60% went to the Islamic Center of Gaza founded by Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Bank records also showed that in a two month period in 1988, HLF transferred over $250,000 to the bank account of Khairy Al Ahga, a Hamas financier in Saudi Arabia.

While HAMAS was not officially designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government until 1995, prosecutors are seeking to establish the longstanding ties between HLF, HAMAS, and its organs inside the U.S.

***IAP and HLF signed an agreement titled “Annual Ramadan Fundraising Program Agreement” to take place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. This agreement, occurring between January 10 and February 10, 1997, includes a twenty-five city fundraising tour for HLF conducted by the two groups. HLF agreed to compensate IAP $40,000 for the use of its contacts and branch offices throughout the US.

The “Ramadan Agreement” was part of the document discovery in Boim, et. al. v. QLI, et. al., a civil lawsuit in which the family of slain teenager David Boim won a $156 million judgment against various US based HAMAS-linked individuals and organizations, including HLF.

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