The United States yesterday froze the assets of six senior Hamas leaders and five European-based organizations it says raise money for the radical Palestinian group. President George W. Bush said he was taking the action because Hamas claimed responsibility for Tuesdayâs attack on a packed bus in Jerusalem that killed 20 people, including six children. The move, being carried out by the Treasury Department, also targets six top Hamas leaders. A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was the first effort to block Hamasâ assets or funding sources outside the United States. Similar action has been taken worldwide against Al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks, however.
| And should have been taken against Hamas and IJ long since... |
âHamas has reaffirmed that it is a terrorist organization committed to violence against Israelis and to undermining progress toward peace between Israel and the Palestinian people,â said Bush. Bush called on âall nations supportive of peace in the Middle Eastâ to recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization and to join the United States in freezing the groupsâ funds.
| My guess is that the Frenchipeans will continue to pretend there's a difference between the poltical and military wings... |
The Treasury Department supplied the following names and identifications for the six individuals: Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the leader of Hamas in Gaza; Imad Khalil Al-Alami, a member of the Hamas political bureau in Damascus, Syria; Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas leader in Lebanon; Khalid Mishaal, head of the Hamas political bureau and executive committee in Damascus; Musa Abu Marzouk, deputy chief of the political bureau in Syria, and Abdelaziz Rantissi, a Hamas leader that Treasury described as reporting to Yassin.
| He's second in command, after the sheikh, and a member of the politburo... |
The charities whose assets were frozen included a support group based in France called the Committee for Charity and Aid for the Palestinians; the Association for Palestinian Aid in Switzerland; the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund, or Interpal, headquartered in Britain; the Palestinian Association in Austria, and the Sanbil Association for Relief and Development, which is based in Lebanon. |