Soldiers operating in Nablus (Archive photo)
Photo: Reuters
Israel orders Hamas-linked shopping mall closed
Computers, furniture, documents seized in pre-dawn raid on Al-I'itiman Investment Co in West Bank city's only mall. Army says acting 'against charitable organizations acting on behalf of Hamas'
The Israeli army on Tuesday ordered the closure of a shopping mall in the West Bank, saying the company that runs it is linked to Hamas, Palestinian security officials and witnesses said.
Islamist Group
No official response yet from Islamist movement on Israel's decision to outlaw charity organizations working to support its operations, however a top field operative for Hamas says funds targeted by Israel are charities that only work to aid needy
Computers, furniture and documents were seized in the pre-dawn raid on Al-I'itiman Investment Co in the city of Nablus's only mall, with soldiers posting a closure notice.
After August 15, anyone running a store in the five-storey mall which has dozens of shops "could face five years in jail," the order reads.
A military spokesman said the army was acting "against charitable organizations acting on behalf of Hamas."
He charged that the organizations sought to strengthen the Islamist movement, "to encourage terrorist attacks against Israel," and "to give financial support to terrorism infrastructure."
Directors of Al-I'itiman were not available for comment on the accusations.
'Part of terrorist infrastructure'
Nablus mayor Jamal Muheissen slammed the closure, saying the "mall belongs to the people and not to Hamas, and it operates in accordance with Palestinian Authority regulations."
Many of the shopkeepers staged a march in Nablus to protest the action.
But an Israeli security source claimed that the "profits generated by these boutiques are used to sponsor terrorism."
Soldiers also searched the offices of several charitable organizations in the Nablus area, Palestinian officials said.
And they searched the municipal offices of the West Bank town of El-Bireh, whose council is controlled by Hamas, seizing computers and documents, Palestinian security sources said.
Israel, like the European Union and the United States, blacklists Hamas as a terrorist organization despite its upset victory in 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections.
On Monday, troops searched the offices of the Al-Tadamon (Solidarity) charitable association in Nablus, confiscating documents and computers before posting a sign stating the facilities "were part of terrorist infrastructure."
The Israeli army has decided to intensify its campaign against charities and other civil associations linked to Hamas, an Islamist movement that seized power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007.
Earlier this year the army shut down several warehouses and offices of the Islamic Charity Movement and the Islamic Youth Association in the southern West Bank town of Hebron, saying they were used to funnel funds to Hamas's military wing.
