Arab Bank and Hamas: The Money Trail
The lawsuit describes a trail of money through the Arab Bank to terrorists and terrorist organizations. It describes how money from the “Saudi Committee For The Support Of The Intifada” goes through the ARAB BANK, and is often converted from Riyal to US dollars at the Madison Avenue NY Arab Bank branch. The terrorist organizations provide the names of “certified” dead and injured terrorists to the charitable organizations around the territories who then supply them to ARAB BANK. ARAB BANK clerks, working in 15 branches in the territories, distribute the funds to the Shahid families, wounded victims and prisoners of the intifada often using alleged "charitable organizations" which are in fact fronts for the terror groups. The lawsuit alleges that:
- Both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have used accounts at ARAB BANK.
- In the February 10, 2001 edition of the Saudi newspaper Al-Jazirah, the Saudi Committee published an annual report in which it listed the names of Palestinian prisoners to whom it provided terrorism benefits as well as the names of the Palestinian martyrs (including the names of those killed in suicide bombings) whose families received terrorism death benefits
- In November 23, 2001, edition of the Palestinian newspaper, Al Quds, the Saudi Committee placed an announcement listing the names of more than 1,000 individuals who had been injured during the Intifada or held in Israeli custody and invited them or their families "to go to the branches of the Arab Bank in their places of residence to receive their allocations donated by the Committee ..."
- In a February 18, 2002 advertisement in the Palestinian newspaper Al Hayyat Al Jedida, a Hamas charitable front organization in Ramallah announced that the Saudi Committee "requests that the families of the martyrs whose names are listed herein to go to a branch of the Arab Bank in their place of residence to receive the tenth payment offered by the Saudi Committee in the amount of $5,316.06 …."· Through the program administered by the Arab Bank, the Saudi Committee paid death benefits to at least approximately 200 fallen "martyrs" in the first year of its existence alone. In November 2001, the Saudi Committee paid more than forty two million dollars ($42,000,000) to terrorists and/or their beneficiaries.
- Arab Bank, in consultation with the Saudi Committee and local representatives
of the Hamas Enterprise, finalizes the lists, maintains a database of
persons eligible under this "universal coverage plan" and
opens a dollar account for each beneficiary. Palestinian families eligible
under this "universal coverage plan" are encouraged to collect
the terrorism benefits through a local branch of the Arab Bank in the
West Bank or Gaza.
For more details about the money trail, see:
- The Original Complaint filed in US District Court against Arab Bank.
- Palestinian Terrorist Organizations Use The Arab Bank to Channel Money into Terrorism, July 2004 by Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies.
- Palestinian terrorist organizations and "charitable societies" identified with them make extensive use of the Arab Bank for transferring funds (Volume 2), July 2004 by Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies.
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