Financing terrorism (illustration)
Financing terrorism (illustration)ISTOCK

The state prosecutor filed a serious indictment yesterday against Rami Habiballah, alleging that, among other things, he transferred money to the Turkish charity Hir Umah, which belongs to Hamas.

The indictment states that the money was transferred through a Hamas activist named Abed al-Jabar Shalbi, who lives in Turkey and manages the charity.

Kan reports that the charity Igatha 48, the social arm of the Islamic movement, of which the UAL party is the political arm, transferred significant sums to the charity through the same operative.

According to the report, in 2021 alone, Igatha 48transferred nearly 400,000 shekels to the Turkish charity. One year ago, the Registrar of Charities wrote to Igatha 48 and requested clarifications regarding the transfers of millions of shekels to bodies outside of Israel. The first charity about which the registrar required clarifications was Hir Umah, based out of southern Turkey.

The registrar demanded to know how the transfers advance the goals of Igatha 48, how they align with the charity's certificate of appropriate management, and a list of the measures taken by Igatha 48 to supervise the use of the money being transferred and the goals being advanced with it.

The registrar did not know at the time that the ISA had declared the Turkish charity the property of Hamas.

It has also been publicized that members of the UAL party have cooperated with five terrorist organizations and Gaza , Judea, and Samaria through Igatha 48.

Igatha 48 stated: “The press has apparently decided to declare charities illegal without notifying the Defense Ministry. As far as we know, and according to continual inspections that we carry out, Hir Umah has not been the subject of any declarations by the Defense Ministry. the transfers are made according to the law and the guidelines of the relevant authorities and the bank. the charity has acted, and will continue to act, only for the good of those in need and according to law. the UAL and those connected with it are being punished for their political views.’’

The ‘Choosing Life Forum’ of bereaved families and victims of terrorism commented: “Once again, it has been proven that UAL and Igatha 48 support Hamas. We call on law enforcement to carry out full justice with supporters of Hamas in the state of Israel, and take a firm hand against the phenomenon of exploiting the freedom to incorporate in Israel for purposes of financing terrorism. It is no longer possible to ignore the facts before us. Mansour Abbas and his partners in the UAL are hiding systemic activities to support Hamas which have existed for years now under the radar in the guise of humanitarian activities. We must act against them with both administrative and criminal law, in order to cut off the financial conduits to Hamas and bring those responsible to justice, just as has been done to others who worked to finance Hamas.’’