Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 09/2008

PolicyWatch #1270: Undercutting a Culture of Militancy: Designating Hamas Charities

August 2007

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Abstract

Yesterday, the U.S. Treasury Department designated as a terrorist organization one of the largest Hamas charities in Gaza, the al-Salah Society, along with its director, Ahmed al-Kurd, a well-known Hamas activist. The organization was outlawed by Israel in 2002 and temporarily shut down by Palestinian security services in 2003. The new U.S. designation criminalizes American donations to al-Salah and officially informs banks and donors of the organization's ties to and activities on behalf of Hamas.