(AP/Haaretz) - In a counter-terrorism operation in 1998 and 1999 run out of the FBI's Phoenix office in cooperation with Israeli intelligence, the FBI secretly funneled money to suspected Hamas figures to see if it would be used for terrorist attacks, FBI officials said. Arizona businessman Harry Ellen, a Muslim convert, testified he permitted the FBI to bug his home, car and office, allowed his Muslim foundation's activities in the Gaza Strip to be monitored by agents, and gained personal access to Arafat during more than four years of cooperation with the FBI. Ellen's FBI handler was Kenneth Williams, an agent who later became famous for writing a pre-September 11 memo to FBI headquarters warning there were Arab pilots training at U.S. flight schools.
2003-10-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive