CT Blog Expert Matthew Levitt Testifies in HLF Trial
By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)
DALLAS - For jurors in the Hamas-support case against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) who likely know nothing about the terrorist group, or about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the first full day of testimony Tuesday was dominated by a lesson in Hamas 101.
Matthew Levitt, a former deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury Department, and now the director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, walked jurors through everything from Middle East geography to the Hamas charter to the way non-violent social branches feed the group's overall terrorist agenda.
The testimony lays a foundation for why the United States outlawed transactions with, and support for, Hamas in the mid 1990s. The five defendants, who lost an earlier court battle to prevent Levitt from testifying, are accused of breaking those laws by routing money to Hamas' social arms through a series of charities, known as zakat committees, in the West Bank and Gaza.
For the full article, visit the IPT's website: HLF Jury Schooled on Hamas Terror, and for a report on yesterday's opening statements, see: HLF Prosecutor: Think Like a Terrorist Organization.
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