“charitable society” in Nablus

Special Information
Bulletin

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S)

February 2005

“Charity” and Palestinian terrorism - spotlight on the Hamas-run Islamic Al-Tadhamun “charitable society” in Nablus: a case study of the workings of the Palestinian terrorism support-system infrastructure and the organizations abroad which finance it.

Sheikh Hamid al-Bitawi, chairman of the Islamic “charitable society” Al-Tadhamun in Nablus and a representative from “Palestine” on the Union of Good board of trustees, seen carrying arms at a conference in Nablus to honor the memory of Mahmoud Madani, senior Hamas terrorist-operative who died in a targeted killing, February 2001 (taken from the Internet site of the Hamas student association, Al-Najah University, February 22, 2001).

Sheikh Hamid al-Bitawi, chairman of Al-Tadhamun, “charity” and terrorism…

Overview of Al-Tadhamun (“Solidarity”) “charitable society”

Al-Tadhamun Islamic Charitable Society ( jam’iyyat al-tadhamun al-khayriyyah al-islamiyyah ) is located in the Rafidiya area of Nablus (in the north West Bank region). A veteran organization, founded almost 50 years ago by the Muslim Brotherhood¹ (1956), it is currently a central Hamas-affiliated institution in the Nablus region. It is headed by sheikh Hamid al-Bitawi, a prominent Hamas activist from the West Bank. He is also on the board of trustees of the Union of Good (UG)², an umbrella organization comprised of more than 50 Islamic charitable funds and foundations worldwide which channels funds to Hamas-affiliated institutions in the Palestinian Authority (PA)- administered territories.

1. The well-known radical Islamic organization from which sprang Hamas in the PAadministered territories (December 1987).
2. For our bulletin on the Union of Good, see http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/2_05/funds.htm.

Al-Tadhamun’s board of directors is composed of Hamas activists, the same men who sit on the Hamas-affiliated Nablus Charity Committee’s board of directors. Al-Tadhamun is an important part of the terrorism support-system infrastructure in Nablus. It also coordinates between the UG and other Hamas-affiliated institutions in the northern West Bank (Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya), and is a conduit often used to pour funds into them. Israel outlawed Al-Tadhamun in 2002.

Profile of sheikh Hamid al-Bitawi, chairman of Al-Tadhamun

Sheikh Hamid Suleiman Jaber Khidhr al-Bitawi (Abu Hatem) was born in 1944 in the village of Bita (near Nablus), received a BA from the Shari’a college of the University of Jordan and got a partial Master’s degree in Islamic law from the Shari’a department of Al-Najah University. He is chairman of the board of Al-Tadhamun Charitable Society and vice chairman of the Nablus Charity Committee, both Hamas-affiliated. When the PA took control over territories of the West Bank as part of the Oslo Accords he was appointed president of the Muslim religious appeals court in Nablus.

Sheikh al-Bitawi is an accepted authority in Islamic law and is one of the founders and leaders of the Israeli Arab and West Bank Islamic movement. He is also chairman of the Palestinian Association of Islamic Scholars, which issued a fatwa (Islamic religious edict) praising Palestinian suicide bombing attacks against Israel, and is one of the representatives of “ Palestine” on the UG’s board of trustees. In December 1992 he was deported to Lebanon with other Hamas activists. In the picture on the left (taken from the Hamas Internet site) he can be seen, armed with a pistol, at an event in Nablus, standing to the left of Jamal Mansour, a Hamas leader in Nablus (died in a targeted killing in July 2001).

The Palestinian Association of Islamic Scholars [Rabitat ‘Ulamaa’ Filisteen]

The Association is composed of Islamic scholars from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It is headed by the same sheikh Hamid al-Bitawi and has many prominent Hamas activists among its members. It was formerly headed by Jamal Salim, a Hamas leader who died in a targeted killing in July 2001. One of the organization’s founders is Bassam Nihad Jarrar,³Hamas-affiliated and a representative of “ Palestine” on the UG’s board of directors. Dr. ‘Essam Salhoub, another representative of “Palestine” at the UG, is also a member of the Association and even signed a fatwa supporting and glorifying suicide bombing attacks (al-‘amaliyyat al-istishhadiyyah) against Israel (May 5, 2001). In it, the members of the Association stated that “the[se] actions are a glorious expression of jihad for the sake of Allah and are not instances of suicide [but rather death through the sacrifice of a Muslim’s life for the sake of Allah]…” (Islam-online,⁴ May 2002, from a posting by al-Bitawi).

3. For information about Bassem Nihad Jarrar , see our bulletin at http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/mpa_11_03/mosque_b.htm
4. An important Islamic Website based in Qatar which provides a forum for the edicts and opinions of Yussuf al-Qardawi.

Ideologically , al-Bitawi was influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood, to which he was first exposed as a high school student in 1962 and which he joined as a college student in Jordan. He was influenced by the ideas of Hassan al-Banna, one of the Brotherhood’s founders, Sayyid Qutb (its most radical ideologue) and sheikh Yussuf al-Qardawi, one of whose lectures he attended in Nablus in 1962.⁵

5. According to an article by Samer Huwaykha, Al-Najah Press Bureau, called “Sheikh Hamid al-Bitawi…words made of bullets” (Islam-online, May 2002).

Hamid al-Bitawi is known for his extremist, rabble-rousing speeches supporting suicide bombing attacks . For example, after the attack at the Apropo café in Tel Aviv⁶ he said to an audience of 10,000 Hamas supporters in Nablus: “I have good news. There was a suicide action in Tel Aviv… that is the only language the occupiers understand, the language of death for the sake of Allah” (AP, March 21, 1997). He also noted that: “It is our people’s right to resist the occupation by all means, including suicide bombing attacks (al-‘amaliyat al-istishhadiyyah), which are considered the height of jihad ;” “Immediately after he committed the action his pure soul rose to paradise, and in addition, the martyr [sic] is not actually dead…” At that point he quoted from the Qur’an and added: “In that respect we have clear fatwas” (From an interview with Islam-online, February 12, 2004).⁷

6. A Hamas suicide bombing attack in a coffee shop in Tel Aviv which claimed the lives of three Israeli civilians and wounded 48.
7. The well-exploited Internet site of sheikh al-Qardawi, who heads the Union of Good (of which sheikh al-Bitawi is a senior member).

Other members of Al-Tadhamun’s administration

Following are the names and profiles of other members of Al-Tadhamun’s administration:

Dr. ‘Abd al-Rahim Radi al-Hanbali : Senior political Hamas activist and chairman of the Nablus Charity Committee. He is also one of the directors of the Qur'an Memorization Committee, which belongs to the Society. His son, Muhammad al-Hanbali, was, until his death, one of the leaders of Hamas’ terrorist-operational infrastructure in Nablus.

Haj ‘Adli Rif’at Salah Ya’ish : Senior political Hamas activist and one of those deported to south Lebanon in December 1992. He is known to be involved in transferring funds to Hamas and is the treasurer of the Nablus Charity Committee.

Dr. Mu’awiyah Rizq al-Masri : A Hamas activist. He is active in Hamas welfare circles and the Al-Tadhamun clinic, and prominent in gaining support for the families of shaheeds. At the end of 2002 he waged a campaign for the continuation of payments to such families.

Hamzah Jaber : Director of the Islamic sports club Al-Ansar.⁸ He is active in other Hamas social institutions in Nablus.

8. Literally “the supporters” (of the prophet Muhammad), this term has become popular with various radical Islamic groups, some of which became involved in terrorist activities (e.g., Ansar al-Sunnah in Iraq).

Ibrahim Muhammad Ibrahim Muslih : A leading Hamas figure in the West Bank. He is one of the directors of the Qur'an Memorization Society belonging to the Nablus Charity Committee.

‘Abdallah ‘Abd al-Rahman ‘Abd al-Fattah Hajawi : A Hamas activist. He is one of the directors of the Qur'an Memorization Society, which belongs to the Nablus Charity Committee.

The other members of Al-Tadhamun’s board of directors are all Hamas activists : Haj ‘Abdallah al-Hamid Sharif, Haj ‘Izzat ‘Azizi, Haj Taysir Halawa, sheikh ‘Azzam ‘Akr and Samir al-Wadi. It should be noted that in the past sheikh Jamal Salim Ibrahim Damouni, a high-ranking Hamas operative, was a member of the board of directors until he died in a targeted killing in July 2001. In addition, there were other members who were Hamas activists deported to Lebanon in 1992.

Al-Tadhamun’s place in the terrorism support-system infrastructure in Nablus

Like the other “charitable societies” or “charity committees,” Al-Tadhamun engages in a broad range of social activities. It operates a clinic (located under Al-Rawdhah mosque), a school (Al-Tadhamun), an orphanage, a kindergarten, an Islamic sports club (Al-Ansar) and a club for adults which serves as an old-age home. It also organizes conventions and meetings around religious, social and national topics (such as the rally on the occasion of the release of Hamas prisoners from Al-Jneid prison in Nablus. However, it is also important in Hamas’ terrorism-supporting infrastructure in the Nablus region, as was shown by the documents found during Operation Defensive Shield (See below).

Documents containing inflammatory material were found in Al-Tadhamun’s offices, including propaganda encouraging acts of terrorism and the use of suicide bombers as role models. For example, a picture and handbills glorifying ‘Imad Kamil Sa’id al-Zubeidi, a Hamas terrorist from Nablus who perpetrated a suicide bombing attack in Kfar Saba (to the north of Tel Aviv) on April 22, 2001 (one civilian killed and 38 wounded) were found in the offices of the Society’s infirmary. The terrorist belonged to the Islamic Block (Hamas’s student organization), and the commemorative issue of the student newspaper glorified him and his activities. [Note: His personal file, used for the transfer of funds to his family by Al-Tadhamun, was also found on the Society’s premises.)

The Society is financed by the Nablus Charity Committee,⁹ with which it is in close contact and shares a common administration. However, Al-Tadhamun has other sources of funding and its budget is partially based on donations from abroad and from the PA-administered territories.

9. Which is in turn supported by Interpal ( Britain), The Holy Land Foundation (USA), Al-Aqsa Fund (German) and WAMY ( Saudi Arabia), all of which transfer funds to Hamas-affiliated institutions in the PA-administered territories.

Prominent among its financial supporters is the Union of Good, an umbrella organization of Islamic funds and foundations around the world affiliated with Hamas and extremist Islamic groups. In the past it was supported by the Saudi Arabian Committee for the Support of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. It also has independent assets and sources of income; for example, it is a partner in the Nablus Mall.¹⁰

10. It should be noted that the Hamas civilian infrastructure (da’wah) in Nablus, which centers around the Nablus “charity committee” and Al-Tadhamun, has created a kind of self-contained economy for itself. For example, a worker who receives his salary from a dairy company (which belongs to the “charity committee”) does his shopping at the Nablus Mall (which belongs to the da’wah). His children go to the kindergarten or school belonging to the Islamic Riyadh al-Salihin [literally “the kindergartens of the righteous”] network and when he needs a doctor he is treated free of charge at Al-Tadhamun clinic, which was also built by the “charity committee.”

Al-Tadhamun as the Union of Good’s coordinator for Hamas-affiliated “charity committees” in the northern West Bank.

To expedite matters, the Union of Good divided the PA-administered territories into four districts. In three of them (in the West Bank) it works with one of Hamas’ dominant organizations, which serves as a coordinator and channels funds into other Hamas institutions in the same district.¹¹

11. See our bulletin on the Union of Good.

To this day Al-Tadhamun is Hamas’ coordinating institution in the northern West Bank, working through an organization called the North West-Bank Coordinating Committee (the north West Bank includes Jenin, Qalqilya and Tulkarm).

Al-Tadhamun in PA perspective

The PA has identified Al-Tadhamun as part of Hamas’ civilian infrastructure (da’wah) and has moved against it more than once. It also took steps against its head, sheikh Hamid al-Bitawi, when he preached against the Palestinian Authority in his sermons. For example, when, he defamed the PA and the family of the Governor of Nablus, he was forbidden to preach sermons in PA mosques for a long period of time.

In December 2001, during PA actions against Hamas institutions (as a result of pressure from the United States in the wake of the events of September 11), Al-Tadhamun was one of those affected. The PA closed its main offices, Islamic sports club (Al-Ansar) and infirmary (which was under the jurisdiction of the PA’s Ministry of Health). In addition, an attempt was made to place its school under the authority of the PA’s Ministry of Education. However, as in other instances, after a few months the initiative flagged and the institutions were reopened by their former directors.

Documents found by Israeli security forces indicate that during the summer of 2001 there was a serious clash between Al-Tadhamun and PA institutions dealing with Hamas’ terrorist-supporting infrastructure. In July 2001, the Palestinian Ministry of Welfare, then headed by Intisar al-Wazir (Umm Jihad), refused to pay the monthly allotments usually received by families of Hamas suicide bombers. She also refused to recognize them as shaheeds with equal rights, claiming that suicide bombing attacks violated the agreements the Palestinian Authority had signed with Israel (See Appendix D). However, the policy was short-lived and in general, during the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation, there has been close cooperation between Al-Tadhamun and the PA’s various ministries.

Additional proof that the PA is worried by the transfer of foreign funds to Al-Tadhamun is in the file of documents found in the Palestinian Preventive Security (PPS) offices in Gaza. The documents, dating from August and September 2002, deal with the plans to transfer $50,000 donated by Muslims living in Bosnia-Herzegovina to Al-Tadhamun’s bank account in Nablus. According to the documents, Al-Tadhamun’s contact person with the Grand Mufti of Bosnia was Hamid al-Bitawi. The PPS claimed that transferring the funds directly was a contravention of Al-Tadhamun’s agreement with the PA. Rashid Abu Shbak, head of the PPS in the Gaza Strip, asked the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for instructions in the matter, which was viewed with considerable concern by the PPS. Whether or not Arafat answered is unclear, however it would seen that he did give instructions that the funds not fall into Hamas hands.

The Arab Bank as the principal conduit for transferring funds to the families of shaheeds and others involved in the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation

The aforementioned documents showed that most of the money transferred from abroad for the families of shaheeds -- including those of suicide bombers – administered by Al-Tadhamun was deposited in the Nablus branch of the Arab Bank. Among the personal files were 105 which included photocopies of the beneficiaries’ bank statements. Seventy-five of the accounts were held in the Nablus branch of the Arab Bank, and the rest in various other banks.

The workings of the Hamas terrorism-supporting infrastructure

During Operation Defensive Shield (April 2002) many Al-Tadhamun documents were found in the offices of the Nablus Charity Committee dealing with the bureaucratic minutiae of Hamas’ terrorism-supporting infrastructure. Documents relating to Al-Tadhamun’s place as an intermediary between the Union of Good and the terrorist infrastructure in the northern West Bank were also found in the offices of the Jenin Charity Committee (November 9, 2004). Many of the infrastructure’s activities focus on supporting those adversely affected by the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation, increasing the terrorists’ motivation and strengthening Hamas’ positionwith the local population. Financial support is given to the families of shaheeds, including suicide bombers, and to the injured, imprisoned and those whose property was damaged.

Conducting the daily operations of the terrorism-supporting infrastructure requires an intricate bureaucracy for the paperwork dealing with the injured of the ongoing violent Palestinian-Israeli confrontation: examinations, verifications and arrangements for the transfer of funds from the donors to the injured themselves or to their beneficiaries. Such a bureaucracy was in fact established by the PA, and also by both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. As a result, the families of shaheeds and others receive a number of payments from different sources.

At the center of Hamas’ support system are the “charitable societies” and “charity committees” in the various PA districts. Due to the prestige of its head, the broad scope of its activity and its connections with important Islamic funds and foundations abroad, Al-Tadhamun is an important, representative case study because it clearly illustrates the way the bureaucracy operates.

Al-Tadhamun , according to the many documents found relating to it, directs the intricate bureaucracy necessary to support Palestinian terrorists and their families. It focuses its activities on the Nablus region but operates throughout the entire northern West Bank, including such cities as Jenin and Tulkarm, through local Hamas-affiliated “charitable societies” and “charity committees.” The documents show that most of the time the bureaucracy collaborates with the Palestinian Authority, under whose jurisdiction such organizations fall.

Running the “charitable society” and “charity committee” bureaucracy necessitates considerable sums of money, some of which it receives from Islamic funds and foundations abroad which deal with raising funds and transferring them to Hamas-affiliated institutions in the PA-administered territories. According to the documents found, one of the most conspicuous contributors is the Union of Good, which continues to support Al-Tadhamun to this day (February 2005).

Organizations operating within the PA-administered territories

The following are examples of how the Palestinian terrorism-supporting infrastructure operates and is supported by external factors, as described by the documents relating to Al-Tadhamun found in the offices of the Nablus Charity Committee during Operation Defensive Shield (April 2002):

The workings of Hamas’ terrorism-supporting bureaucratic infrastructure

Appendix A : Payments (single and monthly) to the families of shaheeds funded by the various supporting Islamic organizations.

Appendix B : the center of the Hamas terrorism-supporting workings. Support for shaheed families: spotlight on the major aspect of the workings of the terrorism-support system.

Appendix C : Files of the wounded: an example of the workings of the terrorism-support system.

Appendix D : Support for prisoners: an example of the workings of the terrorism-support system.

Appendix E : Support for students through Al-Tadhamun, including Hamas activists: an example of the workings of the terrorism-support system.

Financial support for Al-Tadhamun from charitable organizations outside the Palestinian Authority

Appendix F : Transfer of funds from the Union of Good to Al-Tadhamun’s terrorism-supporting infrastructure.

Appendix G : Transfer of funds to the Palestinian terrorism support system from the Saudi Arabian Committee for the Support of the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

Appendix H : Transfer of funds from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq through the pro-Iraqi Palestinian organization known as the Arab Liberation Front ( Jabhat al-Tahrir al-‘Arabiyyah ) (2001).

Appendix I : Al-Tadhamun’s criticism of the PA’s ministries and institutions.

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Appendices

Appendix A >>