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Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal
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Dutch unblock charity assets after Hamas accusation

Amsterdam court overturns government freeze on assets of charity accused of funneling funds to Palestinian militant group Hamas

An Amsterdam court overturned on Thursday a government freeze on assets of a charity accused of funneling funds to Palestinian militant group Hamas, citing a lack of evidence.

 

In April the Netherlands froze the assets of Internationale Humanitaire Hulporganisatie (IHH) Nederland, accusing it of transferring money to a German affiliate which in turn provided financial support to Hamas.

 

 

But in its ruling on Thursday, the Amsterdam court said it found no evidence that IHH Nederland funds made their way to Hamas, either via the German branch of the group or through other organizations.

 

Last year, Germany banned IHH in the country for its support of Hamas. But a ruling by a German court last month suspended that ban on the basis that IHH Germany does not provide financial support to the Palestinian territories.

 

The German court ruling offered sufficient assurances that no funds from the German organisation ended up in the hands of Hamas, the Dutch court said on Thursday.

 

An IHH Nederland spokesman welcomed the ruling as "good news".

 

A Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman had no immediate comment.

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 07.21.11, 21:58
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