(Times of Israel) Arieh Dan Spitzen - Evidence suggests that Iran has been funneling money to the Palestinian Authority through its Shari'a courts and buying influence with the Palestinian public in the West Bank. One of the key channels of Iranian influence is the Al-Ansar Charitable Society, based in Gaza, which has been transferring Iranian funds to the families of Palestinian "martyrs" (including many terrorists) on behalf of the Iranian-funded Martyrs Foundation in Lebanon. According to its website, on July 23, 2012, the Al-Ansar Charitable Society distributed $1,650,000 from the Iranian Martyrs Foundation to families of "martyrs" killed in the West Bank. Iranian financial support was facilitated by the PA postal services, where families of "martyrs" were instructed to go in order to collect their benefits. The writer formerly served as head of the Israel Ministry of Defense's Palestinian Affairs Department in the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
2015-05-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive