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| The struggle against the funding of terrorism: Al-Ihsan designated by American Executive Order 13224. Al-Ihsan, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's charity committee and its main civilian infrastructure institution in the Palestinian Authority-administered territories, had its assets frozen by EO 13224. The step set a precedent, including a “charity committee” operating in the Palestinian Authority-administered territories in the Executive Order which serves as an important weapon in the struggle against funding terrorism. | ||||||
 The emblem of the Tulkarm branch of Al-Ihsan. The text is a Qur'an verse referring to cooperation between men in doing good works and fearing God. Besides its welfare activities, Al-Ihsan supports the terrorist-operative activities of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. |
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On May 4, 2005, the United States included Al-Ihsan in the PA-administered territories, which is an important part of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad ( PIJ )'s civilian infrastructure, in Executive Order ( EO ) 13224. That means designating Al-Ihsan as a terrorist organization and freezing its assets (if they exist) in America . The US Treasury Department made it clear that the designation extended to all the branches of Al-Ihsan in the PA-administered territories, including the main branch in Gaza and those in the West Bank in Bethlehem , Jenin, Ramallah and Tulkarm ( AP , Washington, May 4, 2005). |
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Al-Ihsan Charity Committee, which operates a network in the West Bank and the Gaza strip, is identified with the PIJ . Al-Ihsan ostensibly deals with social, cultural and health-related activities. However, it also supports the organization's terrorist-operative activities, including the support of PIJ prisoners, shaheed (martyrs) families and the wounded. 1 In addition, its branches incite to terrorism by glorifying the terrorist operatives who perpetrate attacks and by turning them into role models. The Committee receives most of its budget from the PIJ , which in turn is generously financed by Iranian money whose purpose is the fostering of PIJ terrorist activities in the PA-administered territories. |
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It is possible that Al-Ihsan has been designated as a terrorist organization because of the trial currently being held in Tampa , Florida , in which senior PIJ members are accused of raising funds for the organization. According to the indictment, the crimes include murder, extortion, money-laundering, fraud and the misuse of visas. |
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Al-Ihsan chairman, Nafez ‘ Azzam , a senior political PIJ activist in the Gaza Strip, reacted to the decision by saying that it “weakened the Palestinian people and would bring about its defeat.” He denied any connection between Al-Ihsan and the PIJ and claimed that the Committee supported the Palestinian people in its difficult economic situation (Interview on the Internet site Qudsnet , May 5, 2005). |
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In our assessment it is doubtful whether the American designation has any practical significance, since as far as we know Al-Ihsan has no valuable assets in the United States . However, in principle it is very significant because it is the first time a “charity committee” from the PA-administered territories , whether PIJ- or Hamas-affiliated, has been designated by the EO (the Hamas-affiliated institutions so far designated have all been funds and foundations operating in Europe and the United States and two Hamas-affiliated financial institutions in Ramallah 2). |
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1 For background material see our bulletin dealing with Al-Ihsan 2 The Hamas-affiliated investment brokerage, Beit al-Mal and Al-Aqsa Bank, the former one of the chief factors behind the establishment of the latter. |
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