Administration freezes assets of U.S. groups accused of helping Hamas

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Broadening the war against terrorism, the Bush administration Tuesday froze the financial assets of organizations allegedly linked to Hamas, the group that claimed responsibility for last weekend’s deadly suicide attacks in Israel.

“The net is closing” around those who support terrorists, President Bush said in the White House Rose Garden. “Today it just got tighter.”

Bush spoke hours after the administration froze assets and shut offices related to a Texas-based American Islamic foundation and two overseas groups accused of financing Hamas’ activities.

Hamas supports “the total destruction of the state of Israel,” the president said. “The message is this: Those who do business with terrorists will do no business with the United States or anywhere else the United States can reach.”

The action extended the American assault on terror beyond al-Qaida and groups believed responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks that killed thousands in New York and Washington.

“With this action we go beyond the al-Qaida network to target groups whose violent actions are designed to destroy the Middle East peace process,” said Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Ashcroft and Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill joined Bush outside the White House for the announcement.

They spoke hours after the administration issued an order shutting down four offices of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, an organization based in Richardson, Texas. The group, registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt charity, raised $13 million last year and calls itself the largest Muslim charity in the United States.

Officials denied it serves as a front for Hamas.

O’Neill disputed that emphatically. “This organization exists to raise money in the United States to promote terror,” he said.

Agents with the FBI and Treasury Department used O’Neill’s order to seize documents found at Holy Land offices in Richardson, Texas; Paterson, N.J.; San Diego, Calif.; and Bridgeview, Ill. The Treasury Department will seek search warrants later allowing agents to review the records seized Tuesday, said a senior administration official.

It is the third time since October that the administration has frozen assets of groups suspected of aiding terrorists.

The two financial groups targeted Tuesday, both based in Palestinian-controlled territory, are Al Aqsa International Bank and the Beit El-Mal Holdings Co., an investment group. It was unclear whether either group had assets in the United States, but the administration was urging allies to freeze the organizations’ holdings.

The administration had planned the crackdown for later in the month, but moved up the action after the weekend suicide bombings in Israel that killed 26 people. The schedule change scuttled administration plans for coordinated action by its allies, officials said.

Hamas, already on the State Department terrorist list, has taken responsibility for the attacks in Israel. The Israeli government declared war on terrorism and blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the attacks.

The administration’s action reflects a willingness by Bush to crack down on influential Muslim groups with alleged tied to terrorism, a new step in his broad campaign to use military, financial and intelligence tools to undermine terrorism.

Last month, the administration seized suspected terrorist assets in the United States linked to Islamic money exchanges operating in the United States.

The Holy Land Foundation issued a statement denying that it provides any financial support to terrorist groups or individuals and expressing confidence the organization will be cleared of the allegations.

“The decision by the U.S. government to seize the charitable donations of Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan is an affront to millions of Muslim Americans who entrust charities like ours to assist in fulfilling their religious obligations,” the foundation said.

Al Aqsa International Bank was founded in 1997 with $20 million in capital, but did not begin operating until September 1999, according to administration officials. The bank is owned by the Jordanian Islamic Bank and by Beit El-Mal. Many of the same people who run Al Aqsa bank also control Beit El-Mal, officials said.

Israel outlawed Beit El-Mal in May 1998, accusing it of being tied to Hamas.

In Nablus, West Bank, Hamas spokesman Tasir Imran said: “Hamas doesn’t take money from any institution in the world. Hamas is funded by the Palestinian people here, not by foundations based in America or anywhere else in the world.

Ranaan Gissin, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, praised the moves against the groups. “It’s cutting off the umbilical cord of terrorist groups, it’s going to reduce their ability to act, we welcome this kind of act,” he said.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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