Al-Aqsa Foundation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The correct title of this article is al-Aqsa Foundation. The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.

The al-Aqsa Foundation is an international charity with alleged ties to the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas. The head office of the foundation is located in Germany and it is known to have local branch offices in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Pakistan, South Africa, Yemen and elsewhere.

The al-Aqsa Foundation has been described by the United States as a "critical part of Hamas' transnational terrorist support infrastructure" and has said that it "uses humanitarian relief as cover to provide support to the Hamas terrorist organization"^[1]. Hamas is designated by the U.S. Secretary of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (66 Fed. Reg. 51088) and as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224, "Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Persons Who commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism." According the U.S., Hamas is known to raise at least tens of millions of dollars per year throughout the world using charitable fundraising as cover^[1].

In May 2003 the al-Aqsa Foundation was designated by the United States Department of the Treasury as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity under Executive Order 13224^[1]. As a result of this designation, all assets of the al-Aqsa Foundation are blocked and transactions with the organization are illegal. Other nations, including the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Switzerland, have also taken action against the al-Aqsa Foundation^[1].