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Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_10266440
Israeli Terror Victims Sue Bank of China for Aiding Hamas
[AP] More than 100 victims of terrorism in Israel filed a lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Bank of China Ltd. for transferring millions of dollars to Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and ignoring demands by Israeli counterterrorism officials to halt the practice. The bank "knowingly assisted Hamas and the Islamic Jihad to carry out terrorist attacks" and did so through the bank's U.S. branches, even though such transfers are against American law, said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, an attorney for the plaintiffs. The lawsuit claims that beginning in July 2003, the Bank of China executed dozens of wire transfers for the terrorist groups totaling several million dollars. Many of the transfers were initiated in the Middle East, sent to branches in the U.S., then to an account at a bank branch in Guanzhou, China, the suit said. The money was then wired to terrorist leadership in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza "for the purpose of planning, preparing for and executing terrorist attacks," the suit said. In April 2005, Israeli officials met with officials from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and China's Central Bank seeking action to prevent the Bank of China from making more transfers, but the practice continued, the suit claims.