A pre-dawn IDF raid closed the Al-I’Itiman Investment Co. in the Arab city of Shechem’s only shopping mall. Computers, furniture and documents were seized and passed on to the security services for investigative purposes. The IDF Central Command also posted a closure notice for the entire mall, under which after August 15, anyone running a store in the terror-linked mall would face up to five years in prison. The raid was part of the recent IDF initiative "against charitable organizations acting on behalf of Hamas" according to the IDF Spokesperson' Office.
Israel, like the European Union and the United States, considers Hamas as a terrorist organization in spite of its victory in the 2006 PA elections and de facto control over Gaza.