*EPF205 12/04/2001
U.S. Tightens Net Around Terrorists' Financial Backers
(Cracks down on three Hamas-affiliated groups) (670)

By Berta Gomez
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- U.S. officials have shut down and blocked the assets of three organizations accused of financing the militant Hamas terrorist group, including the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation.

"The message is this: Those who do business with terror will do no business with the United States or anywhere else the United States can reach," President Bush said during a news conference November 4 with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Bush called Hamas one of the deadliest terrorist organizations in the world and one that supports "the total destruction of Israel." Hamas is guilty of hundreds of deaths over the years, including those of two Americans in the past 12 months, he said.

O'Neill noted that Hamas had claimed responsibility for the "horrific" suicide bombings in Israel during the December 1 weekend and called it "a terrorist organization of global reach." The weekend suicide attacks killed 25 people and wounded another 200.

"The Holy Land Foundation masquerades as a charity while its primary purpose is to fund Hamas," O'Neill said. "This is not a case of one bad actor stealing from the petty cash drawer and giving those stolen monies to terrorists. This organization exists to raise money in the United States to promote terror."

Earlier in the day, federal officials locked down offices and seized relevant records at the Holy Land Foundation headquarters in Texas as well as its three other offices in New Jersey, California and Illinois. U.S. officials say that Holy Land raised over $13 million in 2000 and used the money to help fund Hamas-run schools that encourage children to become suicide bombers.

The two other groups targeted by the Bush administration were the Beit el-Mal Holdings investment company and the Al Aqsa Islamic Bank.

Treasury Under Secretary John Taylor said in a statement that Beit el-Mal "funnels money to and for Hamas" and has assets estimated at $25 million. The company's chairman is "a major financial player in Hamas, and a majority of shares in the company are held by members of Hamas," Taylor said.

The Al Aqsa bank "is a direct arm of Hamas, established and used to do the business of this organization," Taylor added.

The action marked the Bush administration's third round of orders against groups suspected of funneling money to terrorists in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States. The administration has identified 153 individuals, groups and financial supporters of terrorism since President Bush's September 23 executive order expanding Treasury's authority to block assets and U.S. transactions of those associated with terror networks.

Treasury officials said that Al Aqsa is the first bank to be targeted under the new orders and that it will be completely cut off from the U.S. banking community. Frozen assets will be placed in suspense accounts indefinitely, they said. "We're not taking title to the money," an official told reporters.

The officials said they had planned to issue the three new blocking orders later in December but accelerated the action after the weekend attacks in Israel. While the accelerated date meant that U.S. allies were not informed of the action in advance, Treasury officials said they did not expect to hear any complaints. U.S. authorities have "substantial and credible" evidence against the organizations although most of it will not be made public for security reasons, they said. They emphasized that the three organizations are welcome at any time to present U.S. officials with evidence of their innocence.

They said that the Treasury Department's Task Force on Terrorist Finance is keeping track of all countries' efforts to block terrorist financing networks. To date, 196 countries and jurisdictions have committed to join the effort, and 139 countries have blocking orders on terrorist assets in force, they said. Globally, more than $61 million in terrorist assets have been frozen globally since September 11, they said.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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