Government Lays Out Financial Connections in HLF Case
By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)
Dallas—FBI agent Lara Burns remained on the stand Tuesday as the government continued to detail the ties between Holy Land Foundation (HLF) officials and charity committees they funded. Prosecutors must prove that the defendants knew the millions of dollars they funneled from the HLF to the Middle East were really going to Hamas.
During the last two days exhibits outlining both financial and ideological ties between HLF directors and their beneficiaries overseas were entered. The prosecution highlighted the fact that many transactions came well after both January 1995, when President Clinton issued an Executive Order formally naming Hamas as a terrorist organization (making it a criminal act to assist Hamas in any capacity) and its 1997 designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
A 1991 letter found in the home of unindicted co-conspirator Ismail Elbarasse to defendant Shukri Abu Baker was discussed Monday. The letter spoke of the Zakat Committees, described by an earlier government witness as:
HAMAS’ most effective tool… they build grassroots support for the organization…(and) provide a logistical support mechanism to the terrorism wing by providing day jobs to HAMAS terrorists.
The letter breaks down for Abu Baker, who was the Executive Director of HLF, the Zakat Committees by their connections.
To read the full article, click here to go to the NEW WEBSITE of the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).