(Israel Defense Forces) On June 30, the Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf cited Amin Abou Rashed as the "brain" behind the latest flotilla. During the 2007 trial of the Holy Land Foundation, banned by the U.S. and EU for providing direct financial and material support to Hamas, a letter was shown written by Abou Rashed to Akram Mishaal, a director of the Holy Land Foundation and a cousin of Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal. In it Abou Rashed lists the names, addresses, and bank numbers of "charitable organizations working for Palestine in Europe," which were also later declared by the U.S. to be supporters of terrorist organizations, specifically Hamas, and consequently their assets were frozen. Abou Rashed's position as leader of the current flotilla to Gaza raises deeper questions regarding the intentions of the flotilla organizers and their connections to Hamas.
2011-07-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive