| Amin Abu Rashid (aka Amin Abu-Ibrahim) |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1966/1967 (age 44–45) |
| Ethnicity | Palestinian |
| Citizenship | Dutch |
Amin Abu Rashid, nicknamed "Amin Abu-Ibrahim" (born 1966/1967 (age 44–45)), is a Palestinian Dutch national.[1][2][3][4] He has lived in Amsterdam and in Rotterdam, in The Netherlands.[1][2][4]
According to a U.S. government exhibit and other sources, Rashid was a member of the Al-Aqsa Foundation in Rotterdam. The al-Aqsa Foundation has been described by the United States as a "critical part of Hamas' transnational terrorist support infrastructure" which "uses humanitarian relief as cover to provide support to the Hamas terrorist organization". 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.[5][6][7] As a result of this designation, all assets of the al-Aqsa Foundation have been blocked. Other nations, including the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Switzerland, have also banned the al-Aqsa Foundation.[5].
In 2009, the Palestine News Network reported that Rashid was the Secretary General of the Popular Forum in the Netherlands.[1]
In December 2009, Middle East Monitor described him as the head of a delegation from the Conference of Palestinians in Europe.[8]
De Telegraaf reported in June 2011 that Rashid, who the paper described as the "brain" behind the flotilla, helped arrange the purchase of a Dutch ship for use in the flotilla, allegedly organized the majority of the funding for the flotilla, and had been seen training with the flotilla crew in Greece.[3]
As a second flotilla was being formed in June 2011, Israeli Public Affairs and Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein said that:
The participation of Hamas member Amin Abu Rashid in the flotilla, who is known for fundraising money for Hamas terror operations, is clear proof that this is not a humanitarian flotilla, but a provocation and a terror operation in disguise of a flotilla. In the previous flotilla, Abu Rashid expressed his intentions to clash with IDF soldiers and we must take into account that this will be his intention in the current flotilla.[9]