Palestinian Authority Might Be Sued In The US--By An Arab

In the US, lawsuits have become a tool in the war against terrorism--where the families of those murdered by Palestinian terrorists have sued the terrorists themselves as well as the banks and charities that lend support to those groups.

But in those cases, Jews were suing terrorist groups.

Now an Arab wants to sue the Palestinian Authority and the PLO:

The US Can Extradite Freed Palestinian Terrorists Who Murdered Americans

While it is true that the Palestinian terrorists who murdered Israelis have been freed in exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit, some of those murdered by the terrorists were American citizens--and the US can prosecute Palestinian terrorists who murdered Americans:

Since the Antiterrorism Act of 1990, it has been a capital crime under American law, punishable by “death or imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or both,” to “kill a national of the United States, while such national is outside the United States.” A conspirator in such a crime can get up to 20 years imprisonment. No statute of limitations precludes prosecution of old offenses.

Suing Terrorists In The US--But NOT For The Deaths Of The Victims

Suing terrorists in court is a topic that I have posted about alot--see posts here.

Originally, when it appeared in the news it was families suing terrorists in American courts for the murder of a loved one in Israel murdered by Fatah or Hamas. When we read about the US suing, it was the government suing those who finance or support terrorism.

Now US families are suing--but it's not over the deaths of the victims:

Instead Of Suing The Terrorists--Israeli Victims Are Now Suing The Country Behind Them In US Courts

I've been posting on and off about terrorists on trial, but now it looks like the victims are going after the enablers.

Starting with Iran.

85 Lebanon war victims sue Iran in US court

Dozens of Israelis wounded in Second Lebanon War file court suit in US against Iran's central bank and Iranian commercial banks. 'Without their money, Hezbollah would not have been able to train its terrorists or to fire at Israel'

Will the Hezbollah's Iranian connections be able to bring some compensation for the victims? Eighty-five Israelis who were wounded in the Second Lebanon War submitted a claim in US court for $1 billion against Iran's central bank and Iranian commercial banks, making it the first suit filed by Israeli terror victims against the Iranian banking system.

On The Heels Of The Holy Land Foundation Trial--Another Victory Against Terrorists

If you check this list of Americans murdered by Palestinian terrorists, you'll find the following:

March 4, 1996, Tel Aviv, Israel. A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside the Dizengoff Center, David Boim Tel Aviv's largest shopping mall, killing 20 March 4, 1996 Tel Aviv Bombing persons and injuring 75 others, including two U.S. citizens. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing.

This is relevant because yesterday, 12 years later:

A federal appeals court upheld a $156 million judgment Wednesday against three U.S.-based Islamic groups accused of bankrolling terrorism in a landmark civil case.

The U.S. charities must be held liable if they gave money to groups that engage in terrorist acts, even if they designated the funds were for humanitarian purposes, the decision by the 10 judges on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said.

The suit was filed in 2000 by the parents of American-born David Boim, who was a 17-year-old yeshiva student when he was killed by Hamas terrorists in a 1996 drive-by shooting at a bus stop on Israel's West Bank. The Boims' lawsuit claimed the groups that gave to Palestinian charities ultimately helped fund terrorism.

"This is the most significant judicial opinion on liability for terrorist financing ever decided by a United States court," said Chicago attorney Stephen Landes, who represented Boim's parents.

The decision upheld a lower-court judgment against the American Muslim Society, the Islamic Association for Palestine-National and the Quranic Literacy Institute.

The appeals court also sent civil allegations against a fourth charity — the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development — back to U.S. District Court for a decision on whether it should have to pay part of the $156 million.

And what happened to the actual terrorists?

The Palestinian Authority in 1997 arrested two men described as Boim's attackers. One confessed and was sentenced to 10 years by a Palestinian court.

But lest you give too much credit to the Palestinian Arabs...

According to the Boim suit, the other was released and participated in a suicide bombing that killed five civilians and injured 192.

That is still better than what has been done to bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who murdered Americans John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Martin Linde Jr. on October 15, 2003.

There is still a lot of work to do.

Read other posts on terrorists on trial.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Technorati Tag: Palestinian Terrorism.

The Government Gets It Right This Time: Holy Land Foundation Defendants Guilty On All Counts (Updated)

No mistrial this time:

A jury on Monday determined that the Holy Land Foundation and five men who worked with the Muslim charity were guilty of three dozen counts related to the illegal funneling of at least $12 million to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

..Over the past two months, prosecutors attempted to prove that five former charity organizers used Holy Land, once the largest Muslim charity in the U.S., to funnel an estimated $60 million to the militant group – most of it before 1995.

Hamas was designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. in 1995, and the trial centered on the $12 million the government said Holy Land and supporters funneled to the group after that date.

The key to the Government's success this time around as opposed to last time was the streamlining of the charges brought and the effort taken to educate the jury on the issues involved. One of the criticisms of the case last time was how complicated it was.

According to The Investigative Project on Terrorism, the jury decided the defendants will forfeit $12.4 million in assets to the government due to the money laundering charges.

Phyllis Chesler writes that

According to M. Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, prosecutors triumphed because they were able to “connect the ideology of political Islam and the overriding mission of Islamist organizations like the Holy Land Foundation to their desire to contribute to the efforts of terror groups, like Hamas. When this connection is made we will see the return of a guilty verdict. In future [terrorism financing] cases DOJ will not only have to connect the financial dots but [will have] to demonstrate an overarching common Islamist mission.”

The question is whether the Department of Justice is both prepared and willing to put in the kind of work necessary for further successful prosecutions. According to Douglas Farah, an author and terrorism consultant, this will require a change in attitude. Granted that one result of the trial was to publicly show the terrorist agenda of the international Muslim Brotherhood, yet:

Given this complete victory for the government … it is now incumbent on U.S. government agencies to stop dealing with them as if they were engaging in benign efforts to push an agenda of tolerance and civil rights.

The question now is where do we go from here--particularly under the upcoming Obama Administration. It has become apparent that Obama is not going to enact left wing agenda he talked about during the campaign--which makes it just that much more unclear what he will do about the Islamist threat here at home.

UPDATE: David Hazony notes that those who honestly wanted to contribute to real Muslim charities were not without options:

Perhaps many donors to such organizations really are looking to help the Palestinians address their difficult humanitarian position. But as anyone involved in the non-profit sector will tell you, philanthropists are not powerless to influence the work of the organizations they give to. If building Palestinian schools were so important to them, how hard would it be to make sure the money stayed out of the terrorists’ hands? If the answer is “very difficult,” then there are plenty of needy Muslims elsewhere in the world who could use their money instead. And if they insist on giving to Hamas anyway, they should not be surprised to face jail time for supporting terror.

Technorati Tag: Holy Land Foundation.

New York Judge Instructs PLO On Difference Between Terrorism And War

Apparently one man's terrorist is not every man's freedom fighter, as the PLO tries to get a lawsuit dismissed:

[U.S. District Judge George] Daniels said the attacks targeted public places _ not military or government personnel or interests. Two bombings were on downtown streets; others occurred at a crowded bus stop, a cafeteria at the Hebrew University and a passenger-filled civilian bus.

The use of bombs in these circumstances indicates an intent "to cause far-reaching devastation upon the masses," the judge said, with a "merciless capability of indiscriminately killing and maiming untold numbers in heavily populated civilian areas."

Such attacks "upon non-combative civilians, who were allegedly simply going about their everyday lives, do not constitute acts of war," he said.

Daniels also said the violence meets the legal definition of "international terrorism."

Judge Daniels may be overly optimistic on the legal definition of international terrorism. I blogged about the issue 2 years ago, and among other things--US law at the time was not necessarily helpful. Consider:

U.S. v. Yousef (page 59), a Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that

there continues to be strenuous disagreement between States about what actions do or do not constitute terrorism, nor have we shaken ourselves free of the cliché that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”

The same opinion also quotes Justice Robert Bork that "[N]o consensus has developed on how properly to define ‘terrorism’ generally.” (p. 58)

One of the sources of the confusion comes from an expected source:

under one of the various United Nations resolutions addressing terrorism, armed and violent acts do not constitute “terrorism” if committed by peoples seeking self-determination in opposition to a violently enforced occupation. See, e.g., Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations Among Co-operating States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, Oct. 24, 1970 (note 42, page 60)

The Arabs naturally have a self-serving definition of terrorism:

The Arab Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism (Cairo, Apr. 22, 1998), reprinted in International Instruments Related to the Prevention and Suppression of International Terrorism, 152-73 (U nited Nations 2001), while condemning terrorism, takes a uniquely restrictive approach to defining it, stating that offenses committed against the interests of Arab states are “terrorist offenses,” while offenses committed elsewhere or against other peoples or interests are not. (note 42, page 60)

Thus armed struggle is always allowed--almost:

The Convention further defines as legitimate (non-terrorist) “[a]ll cases of struggle by whatever means, including armed struggle,” unless such struggles “prejudic[e] the territorial integrity of any Arab State.” Id. at Art. II(a). [emphasis added]

It would be interesting to see what legal definitions Judge Daniels has in mind. It's hard to believe that the legal outlook on terrorism has changed, unless it is for the worse.

Technorati Tag: PLO and Terrorism.

Another Way To Target Hamas and Hizbullah (Updated)

By monetary if not by military means.

In Israel:

Israel cracks down on Hamas institutions

Israel has decided to increase its efforts to topple the Hamas civilian infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and, on Monday, IDF troops stormed Nablus, shutting down a girls' school, a medical center and two other facilities of a Hamas-affiliated charity.

The operation came after Defense Minister Ehud Barak signed an order banning 36 charities - based across the globe - due to the alleged assistance they provide to Hamas's terror operations.

Officials said that the order signed by Barak was the most comprehensive directive issued in Israeli history in the war on terror financing and was a continuation of previous bans imposed on the Interpal Charity in England, the Al Aqsa Fund in Europe and the Holy Land Foundation in the United States as well as other funds and charities in Holland, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and France.

In New York:

NYC Lawsuit claims Lebanese banks helped enable Hezbollah to kill civilians

Dozens of Israeli victims of terrorist attacks in Israel have filed a lawsuit blaming some Lebanese banks for aiding Hezbollah and abetting its ability to kill civilians.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Thursday, seeks at least $100 million in damages on behalf of 57 victims. It notes that the Lebanese banks maintained relationships with various U.S. banks.

It said the Lebanese banks used those and other relationships to provide Hezbollah with "regular, systemic and unfettered access to U.S. currency," enabling it to buy missiles and other weapons to terrorize civilians.

...The lawsuit said a fundraising form of the organization asks donors whether they wish to fund specific items such as missiles or small arms.

In Canada:

Canadian Victims of Hizbollah Missile Attacks File Historic Civil Action Against Lebanese Canadian Bank

Canadian victims of Hizbollah terror attacks have filed an unprecedented civil action in the Quebec Superior Court (docket number 500-17-043962-086) against the Lebanese-Canadian Bank (LCB) in Montreal. The plaintiffs, all of whom were injured in Northern Israel in Katyusha rocket attacks, allege that LCB unlawfully provided financial services to the Hizbollah terrorist organization by allowing charity groups
affiliated with Hizbollah to transfer funds prior to and during the attacks on Israeli cities in 2006.

Putting terrorists on trial is not working so well either, but going after the money trail and where it leads may be more successful.

UPDATE: Media Backspin thinks this might work:

There's reason to be optimistic. In 2005, a US court fined the Jordanian-based Arab Bank $24 million for when it was caught paying "life insurance" to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.

If it works, this might be the way to go.

Technorati Tag: Hamas and Hizbullah.

PA Will Defend Itself Against Lawsuits--Maybe They Just Noticed The Prosecution's Lousy Record

The PA's decision might not be all that surprising.

In a surprising shift, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority says his government is willing to defend itself against lawsuits alleging that it is liable for acts of Palestinian Arab terrorism during the intifada, according to court papers.

For years, the Palestinian Authority has refused to contest such suits or acknowledge the jurisdiction of American courts, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in default judgments that the Palestinian Authority has refused to pay. Now, in a move that could lead to trials, the prime minister, Salam Fayyad, is calling on federal judges in New York and Rhode Island to throw out the default judgments and give the authority another chance to respond to civil suits filed years ago.

"I have instructed new counsel that the Defendants will participate fully in this and other litigation in a cooperative manner," Mr. Fayyad pledged in an affidavit filed in court in Rhode Island.

The shift could prompt new suits against the Palestinian Authority, if other litigants, such as businessman, believe that the authority might actually pay judgments awarded by American courts.

What exactly is motivating the change is unclear, although it may have come at the urging of American officials.

One motivation could be that the money used to pay if the Palestinian Authority loses would come from the American tax money being sent to the PA.

But maybe part of the PA's reasoning is the poor record the US has had in persuing cases against terrorists.

The case against the Holy Land Foundation ended in a mistrial.
In one case, Hamas was found to be a political party--not a terrorist group.
In that case, the defense claimed that the Israel Lobby was involved--and the defendant got off.
In another case, it was argued that terrorism against Israel did not violate international norms.

Just what are the odds that the PA gets away with it?

Technorati Tag: Terrorism.

Muslim Claims Judge Cannot Be Fair Because He Is Jewish

From the Associated Press:

A judge rejected a Lebanese-born defendant's request that he remove himself from a case involving terrorism because the judge is Jewish.

Fawzi Mustapha Assi, 48, has pleaded guilty to providing support for a terrorist group. He addressed the court Monday against the advice of his attorney, saying he heard rumors that U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen is a Zionist and might have pro-Israel sympathies.

Assi said he was concerned the judge could not be impartial when sentencing him for supporting "one of the most hated enemies of the state of Israel."

Rosen said Assi's request was "a little late" and that the court "has bent over backwards" to ensure fairness.

Assi, a former resident of Dearborn, was arrested in 1998 when he tried to board a plane to Lebanon with visual and navigational equipment for Hezbollah. He pleaded guilty in November 2007.

Sentencing is expected within eight weeks.

Given that logic, based on the murder of hundreds of American troops in Lebanon by Hizbollah, should Assi claim that no judge can be fair and demand a mistrial?

Technorati Tag: Terrorism.

An Unexpected Way Our Taxes Help The Palestinians

So, what is the difference between the money the US gives to Israel and to the Palestinians?

The money the US gives to Israel is in the form of loans that are paid back.
And it turns out that the money the US is giving outright to the Palestinian Authority is also going to find its way back to the US as well.

Andy McCarthy notices how our taxpayers money that goes to the PA will find its way back to the US:

Earlier this week, I noted with relief that the administration had announced it would not intervene in federal court on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, which is complaining about a $174 million judgment against it (and the PLO) for the terrorist murder of an American citizen. But of course, the president's virtually simultaneous decision to pay Fatah an extra $150M over Congress’s objection will just about make the PA whole — in the unlikely event they ever actually make any effort to pay the American victims. Thus, if it wasn't clear enough already, U.S. taxpayers are now also paying the fines imposed on Palestinians for their acts of terrorism against Americans. [emphasis his]

Your taxpayer dollars at work.

Technorati Tag: Palestinians.

US Will Not Interfere With Law Suits Against PalestinianTerrorists

At least that is the way the response by the US government seems to read:

"The United States supports just compensation for victims of terrorism from those responsible for their losses and has encouraged all parties to resolve these cases to their mutual benefit," he wrote in the letter to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.

"At the same time," Nichols added, "the United States remains concerned about the potentially significant impact that these cases may have on the financial and political viability of the defendants."

This is the way the US has decided to approach the contradiction of financially supporting the PA at the same time that the relatives of Americans murdered by the PA are suing the Palestinian government for reparations.

Read the whole thing.

See: Will The State Department Give In To Terror on February 29?

Technorati Tag: Terrorism.

Will The State Department Give In To Terror On February 29? (Updated)

Today we find out:

In a leap of logic, the State Department has been forced to reveal by leap year day whether an important element in the “war on terror” — the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1990, which enables victims of terror to sue in federal court — has teeth or is little more than a sound bite. Much is at stake.

By Feb. 29, the State Department must advise a federal court if it will succumb to Palestinian pressure (read: blackmail) and take the side of murderers by sabotaging a final judgment of $174 million against the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization.

The op-ed is by Neal M. Sher, who has served as the executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the director of the Office of Special Investigations in the Justice Department.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Andrew McCarthy examines the contradictions in this US policy at The National Review:

After nearly 3,000 Americans were murdered in the atrocities of September 11, 2001, President Bush boldly announced that the United States would not distinguish between terror networks and the regimes that support them. They would all be regarded as hostile and dealt with accordingly.

What a sad commentary it is that, less than seven years later, we are left to wonder whether our State Department will stand with the American victims of terror or join forces with the other side: a regime with a long, remorseless record of practicing terrorism, preaching terrorism, and murdering Americans.

Read the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Scott Johnson at Powerline focuses on one contradiction in particular, namely:

the contradiction represented by the administration's efforts to create a Palestinian state when the PA has failed to take the first step of the roadmap requiring the renunciation of terror and the dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure reflected in the Ellis lawsuit.

It is the administration's abandonment of the roadmap -- Secretary Rice's declaration that the administration was no longer "stuck in the sequentiality of the roadmap" -- that perhaps most seriously contributes to the dilemma confronting the Bush administration today.

Now we wait.

UPDATE: The US has made an announcement, of sorts: US Will Not Interfere With Law Suits Against PalestinianTerrorists

Technorati Tag: Terrorism.

Specter And 8 Senators: Let Lawsuits Against Palestinian Terrorists Stand

Reaction to the request by the PA that lawsuits by relatives of Americans killed by Palestinian terrorists be voided was not long in coming:

US senators appeal to Rice over anti-terrorist law

A group of US senators has written to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to urge the government not to sacrifice the interests of US citizens in favor of better relations with the Palestinians.

The issue centers on Palestinian demands to reverse payments awarded in US courts under anti-terrorist legislation to US victims of militant attacks.

Eight Senators have signed a letter drafted by Arlen Specter. According to Specter's website, the letter was signed by:

• Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)
• Sam Brownback (R-Kan.)
• Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
• Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
• Jack Reed (D-R.I.)
• Elizabeth Dole (D-N.C.)
• Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
• Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

According to the letter:

"As members of the US Senate, we have a distinct interest in ensuring that the ATA (Antiterrorism Act) is enforced in a manner consistent with the spirit and intent of Congress," the group of cross-party senators wrote.

"We are concerned that as courts render judgements holding terrorists and sponsors of terrorist acts accountable under the ATA, political efforts to have our government intervene and unduly influence the courts may undermine verdicts imposed by independent arbiters."

The 1990 Antiterrorism Act gives US citizens and their families legal redress against militant groups and individuals through the US justice system.

"Victims who bring forth claims in good faith and win judgements against terrorists should not be thwarted in their efforts," the senators added.

[Hat tip: Hot Air Headlines]

Technorati Tag: Terrorism.

What Worked On Al Capone Works On Terrorist Charities

Whatever works.

Three former leaders of an Islamic charity were convicted on federal tax and fraud charges in Boston yesterday for using tax exemptions to hide support for religious militants and alleged terrorists overseas.

The convictions marked a victory for the Justice Department, which has had limited success in prosecuting charity groups suspected of financial ties to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The defunct group, Care International Inc., described itself as a charity for Muslim refugees, widows and orphans. Prosecutors said, however, that the organization distributed a newsletter in favor of jihadist causes and lent other support to Islamic militants since its formation in 1993.

In several previous cases, federal prosecutors had unsuccessfully sought to charge leaders of such charities with explicit terrorism-related crimes. But in this case, the Justice Department charged three former Care International leaders with making false statements, tax code violations and conspiracy to defraud the government.

Matthew Levitt has the same take at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy:

Despite all of the above evidence tying Care to terrorism, the organization -- like Al Capone -- was ultimately held accountable for mundane charges on which the government could secure criminal convictions. In fact, the judge barred the word "terrorism" throughout the trial in an effort to keep the jury focused on the specific charges at hand. But the ultimate effect of the tax law conviction was to expose and hold accountable a fundraising network that raised significant amounts of money for al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups. Detractors may say the lack of a specific terrorism charge proves this was not a terrorism case, but the evidence belies such claims. Sometimes the best strategy for a terrorism prosecution is to focus on the underlying and mundane criminal activity.

Technorati Tag: Terrorism.

Israelis Suing Terrorists: Part III

While Hamas does not care much about international law, at the very least this should put Hamas terrorism in the spotlight, and perhaps encourage more open discussion about what Hamas is doing, and failing to due, in Gaza.

ZAKA, a volunteer organization committed to the recovery and identification of human remains, in coordination with the municipality of the rocket-battered city of Sderot, may be on to a new method for combating Hamas: The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

In a lawsuit against Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, ZAKA's directors Yehuda Meshi-Zahav and Dudi Zilbershlag and Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal argue that Mashaal is responsible for numerous murders and crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In the suit Mashaal is blamed for the killing of 176 civilians and the wounding of hundreds in Hamas-sponsored terror attacks and suicide bombings that took place since 2002. Attacks on military targets were not included in the lawsuit.

This comes in addition to 2 other lawsuits:

o 150 Israeli citizens have initiated prosecution of the Wakf for destruction on the Temple Mount
o Israel is holding the PA responsible for terrorism

Meanwhile there are 2 measures taken by the Knesset to prevent Olmert from giving away the farm:

o Knesset gives preliminary approval on Wednesday to a bill intended to hinder any division of Jerusalem in a future deal with the Palestinians.
o 54 MKs in the Knesset have signed a petition in favor of Jews' right of purchase in Hebron.

Now let's see if the ICC is actually good for something.

[Hat tip: Best of the Web]

Technorati Tag: Israel and The Hague and ICC.

US Defendant Gets 11 Years For Refusing To Testify Against Hamas

At least some of the US trials of terrorists are getting results:

A former business professor accused of taking part in a Palestinian terrorist network was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison Wednesday for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury.

Abdelhaleem Ashqar, 49, a former associate professor of business at Washington's Howard University, was taken into custody by federal marshals immediately after the sentencing during which prosecutors warned that he might flee.

Ashqar was convicted earlier this year of criminal contempt and obstruction of justice for refusing to testify in 2003 before a grand jury investigating the Palestinian militant movement Hamas. Prosecutors had granted him immunity.

It is no small matter that Ashqar is refusing to testify. Ashqar is knowingly enabling the terrorist activities of Hamas to continue:

Federal prosecutors said that Ashqar's refusal to testify made it harder to investigate violent crimes committed by Hamas. Some coded messages that if understood might help to prevent acts of terrorism remain incomprehensible to investigators, prosecutors said.

"A man who knows (the meaning) is sitting right across the room but he won't tell us," Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid J. Schar told U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve.

In a key decision, St. Eve found that Ashqar's refusal to testify was motivated by a desire to "promote terrorism." That toughened the federal sentencing guidelines and guaranteed that he would get a stiff sentence.

Of course, Ashqar's attorney is filled with righteous indignation--and ridiculous comparisons.

Ashqar attorney William Moffitt compared his client with Nelson Mandela who served 27 years in South Africa.

By all means then, lets add another 16 years to Ashqar's sentence so he can be even more like Mandela.

Technorati Tag: Hamas and Terrorism.

Holy Land Foundation Mistrial: What's Next? (UPDATED)

Check out LGF on the verdict. One of the things that you find while sorting through the ashes of defeat--it ain't over. There is general agreement on 2 points: (1) There is plenty of evidence to support their case and (2) The prosecutors need to streamline their case for the jurors

From Lawhawk:

There is simply too many linkages and ties between Hamas and Holy Land Foundation to be coincidence. Hamas uses HLF for fundraising and getting its message out, and CAIR knows damned well that they're shilling for terrorists.

This was not a stunning defeat, but it definitely is a wakeup call for the Justice Department to do a far better job prosecuting these cases than it has up til [sic] now.

Crunchy Con:

Anyway, it was a bad day for the government, but this story is not over yet. There is a retrial to come. The government is going to have to do something about its strategy, though. Moreover, a lot of useful information came out of this trial, particularly about how the Muslim Brotherhood runs the show among the US Muslim community's main organizations. This is by no means trifling information.

Investor's Business Daily outlines the reasons for hope that justice is done:

Federal prosecutors say they'll retry the case against leaders of the Holy Land Foundation, the nation's largest Muslim charity, which they accused of funneling more than $12 million to Hamas terrorists.

...Barring plea bargains, the U.S. will narrow its charges and refile them — hopefully with a new judge. U.S. District Judge Joe Fish barred key evidence helping prosecutors prove willful intent to support terror on the part of defendants.

For example, he threw out a dozen documents seized by the Israeli government in raids of Hamas fronts that would have tied the Dallas-based charity closer to the terror group.

...No doubt they'll streamline their evidence, highlighting the more powerful exhibits, including:

• FBI wiretaps of a meeting in Philadelphia between Holy Land and Hamas big shots in which Holy Land's director is overheard scheming to disguise payments to Hamas as charity, noting that "war is deception."

• Testimony from FBI agents that Holy Land flew Hamas clerics to the U.S. to help raise funds at mosques.

• Videos of a Holy Land defendant pretending to kill an Israeli during a Hamas fundraising skit held at one mosque.

• Key chains, videos and posters praising suicide bombers found inside the Hamas front "committees" that Holy Land helped bankroll.

...Lawyers for the accused expect us to believe that all this suspicious activity was merely an attempt to help needy Palestinians with "vaccinations" and "rice." Civil juries haven't fallen for the subterfuge.

In 2004, for example, a jury awarded $156 million to a family of a Chicago teen killed by a Hamas gunman supported by Holy Land. A federal appeals court has upheld a D.C. court's ruling that there is "ample evidence" to support the Treasury Department's 2001 decision to designate Holy Land a terror organization and freeze its assets.

This is not over--not by a long shot. Unindicted co-conspirator CAIR is not off the hook yet. This not about being anti-Muslim or anti-Islam. Let's not forgot the Muslim Brother (Ikhwan) memo introduced at the trial:

The process of settlement [of Islam in the United States] is a "Civilization-Jihadist" process with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that all their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" their miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who choose to slack.

That is why we cannot afford to give these people them any slack.

UPDATE: If American Thinker is right, there is new information connecting Hamas to charities:

Last week, the Palestinian Authority closed down all of the zakat committees because of their ties to HAMAS. The decision, announced last Thursday by Jamal Bawattna, PA Minister of Religious Endowments, strikes at the key contention of the defense in the Holy Land case - that the zakat committees who received funds from the Holy Land Foundation had no known ties to HAMAS. While this angle hasn't been reported in the Western press, the English-language jihadist forums have been abuzz with the news (CAUTION: link is to the HAMAS al-Qassam website).

This comes from Haberodasi, which seems to be a Turkish site. If accurate, Hamas seems to be awfully obliging in admitting their part running these charities:

For his part, Dr. Saleh al-Ruqub, deputy minister of endowments and religious affairs in the caretaker government in Gaza stated to the Palestine newspaper that the real aim behind Bawattna´s decision is those members of the Zakat committees who are affiliated with Hamas and to replace them with loyal elements from Fatah.

Dr. Ruqub charged that Fayyad´s unconstitutional government intends to seize the funds collected from Zakat and distribute them to Fatah members and their loyalists, pointing out that Hamas has, over the years, proved to be competent and honest in running those committees and Fatah seems to think by depriving Hamas of the Zakat committees they will deprive the movement of something that helped make it popular.

American Thinker also points to the Investigative Project that there have been a total of 3 trials--2 federal and one civil--that have established the terrorist connection of the Holy Land Foundation.

There may be good reason to expect a different result from retrial.

There are other posts on this and other trials of terrorists in the US here.

[Hat tip: Larwyn]

Technorati Tag: Holy Land Foundation Trial.

THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD MEMO. The Dallas Morning News is covering the ongoing Holy Land Foundation trial in Texas, where the Justice Department introduced a document from 1991 that the FBI captured in a raid on a Muslim suspect's home in Virginia:

This "explanatory memorandum," as it's titled, outlines the "strategic goal" for the North American operation of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan). Here's the key paragraph:

The process of settlement [of Islam in the United States] is a "Civilization-Jihadist" process with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that all their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" their miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who choose to slack.

Good thing that the Islamists that Israel is dealing with in Fatah are nothing like this, and just want a separate country where they can live in peace and tranquility with Israel.

[Hat tip: The Corner]

Technorati Tag: Israel and Holy Land Foundation and Muslim Brotherhood and Ikhwan and Jihad.

IRAN AGAIN FOUND RESPONSIBLE FOR MURDER. Following on the heels of the story that IRAN MUST PAY $2.6 BILLION FOR 1983 ATTACK, Michael Ledeen has posted the following story on The Corner:

Judgment against Iran in Hebrew U. bombing
News Release
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

U.S. judge orders $12.9 million payment by Iran for terrorist killing of
Hebrew University student

Jerusalem, September 11, 2007 - A U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.,
has ordered the government of Iran to pay $12,904,548 to the estate and
family of Marla Bennett, who was killed in a terrorist attack on July 31,
2002, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Bennett, of San Diego, who was 24 years old at the time of her death, was
one of nine students and workers killed in the attack at the Frank Sinatra
cafeteria at the university's Mount Scopus campus. Bennett, a graduate of
the University of California, Berkeley, was a graduate student in Judaic
studies at the Hebrew University at the time.

In his decision, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth determined that the
attack was carried out by members of the Hamas terrorist movement, which is
supported by the Iranian government, and that the latter therefore bears
responsibility for the attack.

Interesting that as opposed to the other case where Iran was found guilty--here Iran is held responsible not only for Hezbollah but for Hamas as well. Every case of Americans murdered by Hamas should be brought to trial in this way, as well as those Americans murdered by Abbas' Fatah.

It is also time for the US to pressure Abbas to hand over the murderers of 3 Americans (John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Marin Linde) in October 2003--especially since the PA at the time said they knew the identity of the murderers.

Technorati Tag: Iran and Marla Bennett.