The Union of Good (UG) (Arabic: ائتلاف خير, Itilaf al-Khayr), also known as the Charity Coalition, is an umbrella organization consisting of over 50 Islamic charities and funds which funnel money to organizations belonging to Hamas, which currently rules the territory of the Gaza Strip.[1] Hamas, which characterizes itself as an "Islamic resistance movement against Israeli occupation" is also on the US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The Union of Good was blocked by Israel from operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2002, then banned in 2008.[2][3] The United States Treasury designates the Union of Good as supporting terrorism under Executive Order 13224 in November 2008.[4] It was founded in May 2001 and is based in Saudi Arabia.[5]
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The Union is chaired by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, an islamist cleric close to the Muslim Brotherhood. Initially he founded a "Campaign of 101 Days" in October 2000, immediately after the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, with the involvement of the Hamas leadership.[1]
The organization has provided funding to Hamas charities in the Gaza Strip for food packages, school-equipment, civic buildings and support for families of people "martyred" in suicide bombings or fighting Israeli forces.[6]
According to the Israeli government, following are some of the prominent societies and funds that form the Coalition:[5]
In 2009 the Charity Commission for England and Wales, after an investigation, ordered Interpal to dissociate itself from membership of the Union of Good.[7]
The Union of Good is designated by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, which allows the US to block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.[8]