Special Information
Bulletin

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)
December 2004
(Updated and revised)
 

Part II    

Appendix A

Interpal transfer of contributions to the designated Hamas-affiliated Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee:1 a test case to examine the connection between Interpal and one of Hamas’ leading institutions in the PA-administered territories.
1. The society’s full name is the Charity and Contribution Committee of Ramallah, Al-Bireh and the Surrounding Area (Lajnat al-Zakat wal-Sadaqaat Ramallah wal-Bireh wal-Liwaa’) . In this document it is referred to as the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee.

Overview
The Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee, although officially under the jurisdiction of the PA’s Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs, is actually one of the leading institutions of Hamas’ civilian infrastructure. For that reason it was outlawed by Israel in 2002.
About the Society :
  The Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee was founded in 1997. Technically, like the other charitable societies operating in the PA-administered territories, it is under the jurisdiction of the PA’s Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs, and is headed by a respectable physician. However, although its charter compels it to accept the directives of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, it in fact is operated by Hamas, directed by Hamas and serves as the aegis for dozens of other bodies and institutions also operated by Hamas activists.


Names of the Committee’s institutions and projects inscribed on the ship’s sails
The upper inscriptions refer to the PA and the Wakf, and its subordination to Palestinian Authority jurisdiction, and below are the Society’s emblem and name.
 

A Palestinian General Security document found during Operation Defensive Shield (April 2002) serves as a model for the way Hamas organizes the components of its large-scale civilian infrastructure: The boards of directors include respectable, influential individuals not overtly identified with Hamas, whereas well-known Hamas activists and terrorists operate behind the scenes. For example, the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee’s nominal chairman is Dr. Husni Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qadir Abu ‘Awad, a physician belonging to a rich, influential family.

  The Society is extremely active in welfare-, health-, religion- and education-related issues. However, as the documents presented below make clear, it is also part of Hamas’ terrorism-supporting apparatus. It supports the families of Palestinian shaheeds, the imprisoned and the deported, especially those who are Hamas activists, contributing significantly to the terrorists’ motivation, since in most probability they must be aware that their families will receive aid from Hamas if they are wounded, imprisoned or killed.
  According to the Palestinian General Security document, the Society launders contributions from abroad and channels the funds to Hamas. Israeli forces found files ( January 20, 2004) containing documents proving the existence of an intricate system which implements the transfer of contributions from abroad to the Committee from designated Hamas-affiliated organizations in Western and Arab countries. The overwhelming majority of such donations are processed through the Arab Bank. In Israeli assessment, it is most likely that some of the money also finds its way to Hamas’ political and terrorist-operational wings.
Following are examples of PA General Security documents found by Israeli forces during Operation Defensive Shield (April 2002) dealing with the Society’s activities and Interpal’s transfer of funds for its use.

A Palestinian Authority General Security description of the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee as a Hamas institution

Appendix A (1)

The Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committe

Translation
Palestinian General Security-The Palestinian National Authority
Reference: --
[ PA emblem ]-Date: 		  Palestinian General Security-
General Intelligence-
December 22, 2001
[West] Bank District Directorate-
Division: ---

To the head of General Intelligence for the Ramallah-Al-Bireh District
Greetings of the homeland,

In re: [The Ramallah-Al-Bireh] Charity Committee
1. Address: Ramallah, Al-Ramouni building
2. Financing: External from a number of countries
3. This society supports the families of imprisoned and deported individuals.2 It gives money to needy school children and distributes money and clothing to orphans and the poor.

2. Documents were found by Israeli forces in the Committee’s offices showing that families of shaheeds were supported as well. The PA’s Charitable Society Law and the charters of the “charitable societies” themselves forbid them to conduct any activity which is not strictly charitable. Therefore, helping the families of shaheeds and the imprisoned and the expelled and any connection with Hamas are all illegal in the PA view.
4.

The higher echelons of this society and others like it belong to Hamas, and some of them are movement activists .

Yours sincerely,
Head of the Operations Room
Major [Ra’id] Khaled Abu Yaman


Original Document



Appendix A (2)

The Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee

Translation

[FILE_ NUMBER]
3 [CLASSIFICATION_TERM]

3. The meaning of the heading is unclear. Other documents with the same heading were found, written, in Israeli assessment, by Palestinian General Security.

The Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity and Contribution Committee [lajnat al-zakat wal-sadaqaat]4
4. Zakat, in Muslim terminology, means donating a monthly or yearly percentage of one’s income to charity or having it deducted from one’s salary. Sadaqah (pl. sadaqaat) means money or various items donated or received as charity.
1. Address : Al-Ramouni building across from the police station.
2. The Committee was established during the nineteen seventies and came under the jurisdiction of the Ramallah Branch of the PA Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs. It is headed by the physician Dr. Husni Abu ‘Awad and Darwish al-Zien.5 The Committee collects donations: money and charity items [i.e., donations not necessarily in the form of money] which are distributed at the[ end of the Islamic holy] month of Ramadan.

5. According to a document found by Israeli forces in the offices of the Committee ( January 20, 2004), Dr. Husni Abu ‘Awad still heads it. Darwish al-Zien is no longer a member of its administration. Both of them were and are the Society’s “respectable” figureheads behind whom operate Hamas activists and terrorists, as shown below.
3. The Committee works with a number of banks in Ramallah, particularly the Arab [Bank] of Jordan and Beit al-Mal [See below].
4. Among the most important companies the Committee works with are Sunuqrut, Al-‘Ajouli money changers6 and the Islamic Movement “inside.”7

6. Ghazi al-‘Ajouli is a well-known veteran money changer from Ramallah whose financial services are used by Palestinian terrorist organizations, especially Hamas. Sunuqrut is a company one of whose owners, Mazen Sunuqrut, is a Hamas activist and who was head of Beit al-Mal, a financial institution declared illegal by Israel in May 1998.
7. Probably referring to the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, headed by sheikh Ra’ed Salah. Certain high-ranking members of the Islamic Movement, among them sheikh Salah, are currently (December 2004) in Israeli custody awaiting trial for, among other things, transferring money from Hamas foundations abroad to Hamas institutions in the PA-administered territories.
5. active members of the Committee are:
  a. ‘Aql [Suleiman Muhammad] Rabi’ , [a resident of] Al-Mazra’ah al-Qabiliyyah.8

8. A well-known Hamas activist, who during the 1990s spoke in favor of terrorist attacks against Israel. Today he is the Committee’s administrative director.
  b. Nabil Karraja , [a resident of] Dir Abzi’.9

9. Apparently a reference to Nabil ‘Abd al-Hadi Mustafa Mansour, a well-known Hamas activist. Nabil Karraja is the Committee’s accountant.
  c. Muhtadi Mahmoud [Ibrahim] Muslih , [a resident of] Ein Sinia.10

10. Known at present (December 2004) as a Hamas activist. Son of Mahmoud Muslih, head of the Al-Bireh Islamic Charity Committee. His father’s representative in the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee, he enjoys a position of power.
  d. Haj Mousa [Muhammad Hussein ibn] al-Bajah .11

11. Died in 2001.

All the aforementioned are considered Hamas activists and we
[Palestinian General Intelligence] have files on them .12

12. Documents found by Israeli soldiers in the Society’s offices in Ramallah ( January 20, 2004) indicate that the living aforementioned Hamas activists continue their work there. According to the Society’s charter, conditions for membership in its executive branch are “the fear of God, religious education and faith.” In reality, it would seem that an additional condition is a connection to Hamas.
6. The money from “outside” is transferred to the accounts [of the four above-mentioned Hamas activists] in local banks. It comes from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Qatar . Some of it comes in the form of checks which are cashed by [the money-changing firm of] Al-‘Ajouli.
7. other employees [apparently those who have no specific title] are:
  a. Mr. ‘Omar Hamdan , [a resident of] Betunia.
  b. Haj Darwish al-Zien , [a resident of] Ein al-Misbah.
  c. Haj Mousa al-Bajah
8. The Committee has an Internet site.
9. The Committee has a number of branch offices:
  a. The Charity Committee of Ein Yabrud and other villages .
  b. A warehouse across from the Shar’i [Muslim religious] courthouse , next to Al-Alamein taxi stand.
  c. A warehouse in the industrial zone of Ramallah.
  d. The Committee has sewing shops and small workshops in a number of villages in the district.
10. activities include :
  a. Financing centers for Qur’an memorization .
  b. Providing financial support for the families of Palestinian prisoners.
  c. Providing financial support for the families of deportees to Marj al-Zuhour [in south Lebanon, December 1992].
  d. The Committee opened a dental clinic, a general clinic and a pharmacy.
  e. The Committee gives money to needy school children and distributes clothing.
  f.

The Committee distributes money and clothing to orphans and the poor. A number of well-do-do individuals [took it upon themselves] to sponsor a number of poor families through the Society.13

13. Besides donations of money and goods, sponsorships (kafalah) of school children or students or poor families or orphans is one of the hallmarks of the financial assistance provided by Palestinian charitable societies or charity committees, having secured the sponsorship from wealthy Muslim individuals and institutions (both local and foreign). According to Muslim tradition, such sponsorships guarantee the sponsor – in this case, the individual – a place in paradise.
  g. The Committee has relations with Al-Quds Charitable Society, which it helped found.
11. Dr. Mahmoud al-Rahme was active on the Committee for many years. After his arrest during the 1990s he opened Al-Rahme Hospital.
12. The Palestinian Security apparatus raided the Committee offices and confiscated documents [during its campaign against the Hamas civilian infrastructure in December 2001].
13. The Committee is run by Hamas in a sophisticated manner. Its main activity is transferring funds from the “outside” into Hamas’ coffers.

The Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee

Original Document



Appendix A (3)

The Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee 14
14. This survey of the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Commitee was taken from a pamphlet written by Palestinian General Security ( May 22, 2000).

Translation
1. The Committee is located in the Ramallah-Al-Bireh district in Al-Ramouni building near the police station.
2. It was founded in the 1970s and was put under the jurisdiction of the Islamic Endowments division. It is headed by Dr. Husni Abu ‘Awad, a pediatrician and Hamas leader, and Darwish al-Zaban [sic. i.e., Darwish al-Zien].
3. Its professed aims are collecting charity and monetary donations from wealthy Muslims and distributing them to the poor and needy.
4. The Committee has financial relations with a number of companies and banks, particularly the Arab Bank, the Bank of Jordan, Beit al-Maal, the Sunuqrut Company, and Al-‘Ajouli money changers.
5. It also maintains relations with the Islamic Movement within the green line [the 1967 Israeli borders] and with Al-Quds Charity Committee [of Jerusalem], which helped found it.
6. In addition to donations, the Committee receives funds from many Arab and non-Arab countries, chiefly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the Gulf States, the UAE and Qatar. The funds are transferred by the banks and companies mentioned above.
7. The Committee has various centers and branches, the most important of which are :
  a. The Charity Committee of ‘Ayn Yabrud
  b. A warehouse in Ramallah, opposite the Shari’ [Muslim religious] courthouse.
  c. A warehouse in the Ramallah industrial district.
  d. A center for teaching sewing in Ramallah.
8. The important Committee activists in the Ramallah-Al-Bireh district are :

Name

ID No.

Residence

Affiliation

Remarks

Husni Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qadir Abu ‘Awad

939587390

Al-Bireh

Hamas

Committee Chairman

Darwish al-Zaban [sic. i.e., al-Zien]

-

Ramallah

Hamas

-

Omar Muhammad Ahmad Hamdan

991010117

Betunia

Hamas

Investigated by us June 1, 1999

‘Aql Rabia’

-

l-Qabilia ranch

Hamas

 

Nabil ‘Abd al-Hadi Mustafa Mansour

938443058

Dir Bazia

Hamas

Arrested by us

Muhtadi Mahmoud Ibrahim Muslih

967140856

‘Ayn Sinia

Hamas

His father is the Hamas spokesman

Mahmoud Ahmad ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Rahmi

998531065

Al-Bireh

Hamas

Was a committee activist. Arrested by us

9. Our investigation of the Committee made it clear that it was transferring funds from abroad to Hamas . We paid a surprise visit to the Ramallah office and confiscated a number of documents.
10. After Mahmoud al-Rahmi was arrested by the other side [i.e., Israel] and after steps were taken against Committee activists, its Hamas-related activity decreased.
11. The results of current investigations show that the Committee is working to open medical and social centers as an alternative source of income after its transfers of funds to Hamas stopped.
12. After following the Committee’s activities [we have come to the conclusion that], it does not pose a threat at this time.

The Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee

Original Document



Appendix A (4-5)

Payments made to the families of shaheeds (from all the Palestinian terrorist organizations) who were killed during violent confrontations with Israel, chiefly during the 1990s.
One of the files confiscated from the Offices of the Charity Committee of Ramallah on January 20, 2004, deals with the transfer of funds to the families of shaheeds (martyrs) in the Ramallah area. The file was entitled “Information on shaheeds of the Ramallah district” and contained documents regarding shaheeds, most of whom died in the early 1990s while attacking Israel (there were also documents going back to the 1970s and 80s). According to the file, information about the shaheeds was given to the Charity Committee of Ramallah by a group based in that city calling itself The National Group of Palestine Martyrs’ Sons;15 the Committee was expected to act on the information by providing the families with financial support.

15. Apparently an all-Palestinian organization for supporting shaheed families.
The following two documents were found in the file:
  Document No. 4 : information about a terrorist who built bombs and was killed during the first intifada (Sept. 30, 1991) when a charge he was working on exploded.
  Document No. 5 : information about a Fatah terrorist who died during the first intifada (Sept. 21, 1992) when a home-made bomb he was working on exploded. He planned to use it to blow up a civilian bus in Israel.

Document No. 4

Translation

The National Group of Palestine Martyrs’ Sons
Ramallah Office

In the name of Allah the all-merciful

Martyr’s name: Salih ‘Ataallah ‘Abd Jadallah
Date of birth: January 29, 1960

His life as a fighter: Was active among the fighting forces in his village until he began preparing explosive charges and fought against the [Israeli] occupation during the [first] intifada.

His death : An explosive charge blew up in his hands while he was assembling it in his village, Beit ‘Awar al-Tahta, and he died instantly.
Date of death: September 30, 1991

[Note: The names of his wife and children and their dates of birth follow.]
[Handwritten note:]
Humanitarian aid
Nazareth and Kafar Qassem [both Israeli towns]
[Stamp]

Telefax: 9987630 Ramallah – Amman – Fax 661727 – Nablus Tel: 389911 Al-Shirdawi Building across from Al-Walid Cinema next to Nablus taxi stand

Document No. 4

Original Document



Document No. 5

Translation

The National Group of Palestine Martyrs’ Sons
Ramallah Office

In the name of Allah the all-merciful

Martyr’s name: Rizq ‘Abd al-Rahman Qassem Nubani
Date of birth: April 8, 1958

His life as a fighter: Joined the ranks of Fatah as a youth and participated in a number of military actions.

His death : Died while an explosive charge he was preparing blew up. He had been instructed to place it at a bus stop.

[Note: The terrorist in question was killed during a “work-related accident.” He was preparing a home-made bomb with which he planned to attack a civilian Israeli bus on the Nablus-Ramallah road.]

Date of death: September 21, 1992

[Note: The names of his parents, wife and children and their dates of birth follow.]

[Stamp]
Telefax: 9987630 Ramallah – Amman – Fax 661727 – Nablus Tel: 389911 Al-Shidawi Building across from Al-Walid Cinema next to Nablus taxi stand

Document No. 5

Original Document


Appendix A (6-8)

Transfers of funds from Interpal to the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee

Overview
The following documents deal with transfers of funds from Interpal to the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee on September 25, 2001. They were found with other documents dealing with transfers of funds from foundations and bodies affiliated with Hamas in Europe and Arab countries.16

16. The file, containing various documents, was found in the Society’s offices in Ramallah on January 20, 2004.
The documents deal with the transfer of funds for employing teachers (both male and female) in centers for Qur’an memorization maintained by the Committee and for the establishment of a library in El-Bireh’s Grand Mosque.17 The centers, like the mosques, serve Hamas as focal points for indoctrinating radical Islamic messages and preaching hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. The mosques also serve as centers for recruiting terrorists and dispatching them on missions, and during the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation wanted terrorists and weapons have often been found hidden in them.

17. The most important mosque in the Ramallah-Al-Bireh district, also known as the ‘Abd al-Nasser mosque. It is a hotbed of Hamas activity, and like other mosques and similar Islamic institutions, officially under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs. One of the Palestinian Security apparatus’ documents explicitly stated that the mosques in the Ramallah-Al-Bireh district are under Hamas control.
The following two pages from a pamphlet published in 2001 illustrate the indoctrination received at the centers for Qur’an memorization. It was published by one of the Qur’an memorization centers and found in the offices of the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee ( January 20, 2004).

The pamphlet is entitled Thirty Ways to Enter Heaven [taken from] the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The fifth way appears on pages 8 and 9: “ Jihad for the sake of Allah by fighting for Allah with one’s soul and money.”18 The centers for Qur’an memorization, which to outward appearances are institutions for teaching the younger generation the religion of Islam, in reality serve as an important component of Hamas’ propaganda-indoctrination infrastructure. They also run summer camps for Palestinian children where they are inculcated with radical Islam.

18. Surah 9 (Al-Tawbah) Verse 41. Another well-known verse from the same Surah supporting this jihad in particular and jihad in general, including suicide bombing attacks, is Verse 111: “Allah hath purchased of the believers their souls and their goods.”

Appendix A (6)

Document No. 6

Overview
The document deals with Interpal as providing the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee with funds to hire teachers (both male and female) for the center for Qur’an memorization and for the establishment of a library at the Grand Mosque in Al-Bireh. The mosque, also known as the ‘Abd al-Nasser mosque, is a center for Hamas activity, despite the fact that like others, it is formally under the jurisdiction of the PA.
According to the document, those responsible for running the “charitable society” are requested to provide detailed, documented reports about their activities (an indication of the problems arising between Interpal and the “charity committees” as to inspection of how the money is spent).19 The donations are collected under the aegis of the Union of Good – UK (of which Interpal is an important component) and a British Muslim organization called Muslim Aid,20 which in the past was headed by Yussuf Islam, formerly singer Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam.21

19. Similar indications appear in additional documents which follow below.
20. An Interpal collaborator.
21. The United States recently refused Stevens entry into its territory on the grounds that he was suspected to transferring money to Hamas and to sheikh ‘Omar ‘Abd al-Rahman, who was arrested for his part in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center (See Reuters September 22, 2004; AP Washington, September 23, 2004; the British Daily Telegraph, September 23, 2004). In the past Israel as well has refused him entry.

Document No. 6

Original Document


Appendix A (7)

Document No. 7

Original Document

A receipt from the Al-Bireh branch of the Arab Bank for 89,778.53 Israeli shekels (about $20,450) transferred from its London branch for deposit to the account of the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee. It was transferred on behalf of Interpal from the Arab Bank22 in London to finance the construction of a library at the Al-Bireh mosque and a Qur’an memorization center. Although Interpal requests that the [Hamas-affiliated] charitable societies fill out forms stating the purpose to which the funds will be put, in reality it does not effectively supervise how the money is spent after passes through the “charitable societies” and reaches the hands of Hamas activists, contradicting its repeated claims and denials of not supporting Hamas institutions.
22. See our bulletins relating to the activities of the Arab Bank. www.intelligence.org.il

Appendix A (8)

Document No. 8

Original Document

Despite Interpal’s strict instructions to the contrary, a surprisingly unsigned receipt for the transfer of L14,320 (about $20,500) from Interpal through the London branch of the Arab Bank to be deposited in the account of the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee (which they refer to as the Ramallah Zakat Committee), November 30, 2001. The funds were received from the Union of Good – Muslim Aid, which is an Interpal partner. The donation was split to provide L5810 (about $11,200) for the library at the Al-Bireh mosque and L8510 (about $16,400) for the Qur’an memorization center.

Appendix A (9-11)

Documents dealing with an Interpal bank transfer for the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee

Overview
The three following documents record the transfer of L12,189 (about $17,600) from Interpal to the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee ( January 30, 2000). The funds were transferred through the Arab Bank and designated for orphans and charity for three holy days of Eid al-Fitr which end the fast of Ramadan.23

23. The documents were found in the Society’s offices in Ramallah on January 20, 2004.
In effect, as noted above and based on available information, Interpal has so far not shown it has an effective way of checking how the money it sends is spent by the Committee, which is in fact controlled by Hamas. Some of the funds do reach their stated ends, that is, orphans and general charity. However, the orphans are not supported for purely philanthropic reasons. Some of them belong to the families of shaheeds (especially Hamas activists and terrorist-operatives) and the aid they receive is part of the apparatus which supports Hamas terrorists and their families. In addition, the orphans who receive their education at Hamas-run schools are taught to hate Israel and the Jews and to support terrorism, as will be illustrated below.

Appendix A (9)

Document No 9

Original Document


Appendix A (10)

Document No 10

Original Document


Appendix A (11)

Document No 11

Original Document


Appendix A (12)

Who subsidizes the Hamas-run Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee?

Translation24
24. One of the documents found in the offices of the Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee on January 20, 2004. Most of the funds, foundations and societies listed are knows as being terrorism-supporting designated Hamas-affiliated or as Islamic institutions which support and aid Hamas (See Part 3). Interpal is therefore in good company, or at least, among friends…

In the name of Allah the all-merciful
The Ramallah-Al-Bireh Charity Committee
Sponsoring Institutions

Serial No.

Name

Address

Notes

1

Internal sponsors

Ramallah

 

2

Al-Mounasara

Amman

 

3

Charitable Society of Qatar

Al-Dawhah

 

4

Al-Mounasara

Kuwait

 

5

Eastern Welfare Network

Eastern Region [ Saudi Arabia]25

 

6

The Palestinian Fund – Interpal

London

 

7

Al-Aqsa Fund

Germany

 

8

Holy Land Foundation

United States

 

9

Human Appeal International

UAE

 

10

Palestinian Charitable Society

Italy

 

11

Palestinian Charitable Society

France

 

12

Islamic Society for Orphan Welfare

Kafar Qassem [ Israel]

 

13

Humanitarian Welfare Society

Nazareth [ Israel]

 

14

WAMY [World Assembly of Muslim Youth]

Riyadh [ Saudi Arabia]

 


25. A similar table shows that the foundation is, indeed, in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Appendix A (12)

Document No 12

Original Document

 
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