Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration on Tuesday froze the financial assets and closed the offices of a Texas-based foundation accused of funneling money to Hamas.
The militant Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for last weekend’s deadly attacks in Israel.
The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, with offices in Illinois, California and New Jersey, denied having ties to Hamas. 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.
Foundation president Shukri Abu-Baker said the action was "the work of special interest groups working for Israel in Washington."
Bush said Hamas uses money raised by the foundation to indoctrinate children to become suicide bombers and to support the families of suicide attackers. Most donors don’t know how the money is used, Bush said, "but the facts are clear, the terrorists benefit from the Holy Land Foundation, and we’re not going to allow it."
Hamas, already on the State Department terrorist list, said through a spokesman that it gets no money from U.S. groups.
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