In a ceremony held in the Gaza Strip on October 13, 2005, the Al-Ansar Charity Association distributed a sum of one million dollars, granted by Iran, to families of shahids (i.e., terrorists killed during the confrontation with Israel) whose homes had been demolished and to families of detainees in the Gaza Strip.

The ceremony was sponsored by Abu Mazen, who was represented by former Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Hisham Abd al-Razeq , and attended also by several Legislative Council members. In a speech given on Abu Mazen's behalf, Abd al-Razeq stated that the Palestinian Authority formulated its “national plans” to liberate the Palestinian land and issued a call to fight against the (Security) Fence, the settlements, and the Judaization of Jerusalem. ¹

In a speech given during the ceremony, Nafez Uthman Abd al-Rahman al-A'raj, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad activist who heads the Al-Ansar Charity Association, stated that the association had resumed its activity after years of hiatus that resulted from “the Israeli aggression” against the association's offices, ² seizing its funds, and closing its accounts in several banks. ³

Al-Ansar Charity Association Secretary Nasser al-Sheikh added that the Martyrs Foundation, operating in Iran , had extended its patronage over all the families of shahids who had died defending the Palestinian land. Since the beginning of the confrontation, said Al-Sheikh, the association assisted some 3,996 shahids (5,000 USD per family) and 200 detainees (1,000 USD per detainee). He added that the Al-Ansar Charity Association paid monthly salaries to families of 1,940 shahids, ranging from 75 USD to a shahid's son to 250 USD to a shahid who had been married. Furthermore, Nasser al-Sheikh announced that Iran 's Martyrs Foundation would provide funds ⁴ for a new project to compensate families of shahids whose homes had been demolished.

Characteristics of the Al-Ansar Charity Association and its leader

The Al-Ansar Association is an Islamic charity association founded in 2001 and declared an illegal organization by Israel in 2003. The association operates in the Gaza Strip, holds close contacts with Iran , and is a Palestinian branch of the Iranian Martyrs Foundation . The association operates under the auspices of the Hezbollah-owned Martyr Institution in Lebanon , the Lebanese branch of the Iranian Martyrs Foundation.

The association's primary focus is providing financial aid to families of terrorists, both shahids and detainees, from all the terrorist organizations. It is headed by Nafez Uthman al-A'raj, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad activist directed by the Hezbollah in Lebanon . To the best of our knowledge, Al-A'raj has held contacts with terrorist operatives, assisted in guiding terrorist infrastructures in the Gaza Strip, and been involved in coordinating arms and ammunition smuggling operations to terrorist infrastructures in the Gaza Strip.

The Al-Ansar Association, supported by Iran (and Hezbollah), is therefore part of the broad civilian infrastructure that serves as a tool for assisting terrorists and their families (families of shahids, detainees, or families whose homes were demolished). The participation of Abu Mazen's representative in the distribution ceremony of one million dollars (a substantial figure in its own right) originating in Iran demonstrates that the Palestinian Authority continues to avoid confronting the terrorist-supportive infrastructure, for the most part operated by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Furthermore, the very participation of Palestinian Authority representatives in the funds distribution ceremony provides legitimacy for the continued activity of the Al-Ansar Charity Association and other associations run by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Another recent expression of Abu Mazen's preference not to confront the terrorist organizations can be found in a reference he made in a speech given to the Legislative Council (October 26) to Luay Saadi and Majed al-Ashqar, two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist operatives killed in an exchange of fire with IDF forces in Tulkarm (October 24, 2005). Abu Mazen chose to refer to those terrorists, who had stood behind the terrorist attacks at Tel-Aviv's Stage nightclub (February 2005) and a shopping mall in Netanya (July 2005) as “excellent fellows” (Al-Jazeera Television, October 26).

The Iranian Martyrs Foundation

The Martyrs Foundation was formed in Iran in 1980, in the wake of the Iran-Iraq War, in order to help the families of those killed, missing, or taken captive. As one of Iran 's means of exporting the revolution, the foundation has branches worldwide. Iran considers the generous support it provides to “charity associations” in the Palestinian Authority administered territories (such as Al-Ansar) a means to support the terrorist organizations, mainly the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and an instrument for acquiring influence among the Palestinian population.