On video: South Africa accuses Israel of apartheid: "intentional genocide" 11.01.24/Reuters
Research conducted and published last night (Wednesday) by the Jerusalem Post revealed what appears to be a network of several South African organizations and straw companies deeply involved in financing the activities of the terrorist organization Hamas - this through the "Al-Quds" fund, which was outlawed in Israel and restricted in the United States .
The financing, according to the study, is carried out by accounts in local and central banks in South Africa.
Operator: "Al-Quds" Foundation
The Al-Quds International Fund, also known as QII, was established in Beirut in 2001 by Hamas leaders and its purpose was to raise funds for the terrorist organization under the guise of charity.
The foundation is part of an extensive network of several organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, headed until recently by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a prominent Islamic scholar whose name made headlines after he published an Islamic legal ruling that supported and praised suicide attacks.
Today, it is headed by Sheikh Hamid bin Abdullah Al-Ahmar, a Yemeni businessman who lives in Turkey, a key figure in the "Al-Aslah" party in Yemen, which is a political branch of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in the country.
However, the connection of the Al-Quds Foundation with the terrorist organization, as it turned out, is even deeper.
According to the US State Department, the Hamas leadership manages all the fund's affairs on its own.
Hamas members serve on the foundation's board of directors and administrative committees, the organization's officials draft all its documents, plans, budgets and projects - and several senior Hamas officials, including the terrorists Musa Abu Marzouk and Osama Hamdan, served on the foundation's board of trustees.
Already in 2012, the American State Department imposed sanctions on the foundation on the grounds that it "acts on behalf of Hamas", among other things, all of its assets on American soil were frozen, and citizens of the country were prohibited from conducting transactions with it. As mentioned, Israel took the "Al-Quds" foundation out of to the law already in 2009, for the same reasons.
Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk visits the mourning tabernacle of the family of Muhammad Abu Shyamala who was eliminated.
Rafih, August 28, 2014/Reuters
In the shadow of the sanctions imposed in the USA and Israel, the foundation continues its activities around the world and includes about 13 branches - sometimes under a disguise under different names. Visibly it is a "branch of the Al-Quds Foundation". The South African branch even boasts of its alleged fundraising activities for the residents of Gaza.
Also, the foundation's website lists Sheikh Ibrahim Gabriels as the director of the branch since 2019. Before that, Gabriels was the president of The Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa (MJC). According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, the council is part of the Union of Good - an umbrella organization made up of more than 50 alleged charitable organizations around the world that are involved in raising funds and financing Hamas activities - this group was also issued In 2008 outside of American law.
If that wasn't enough, in 2017 Gabriels met with a Hamas delegation led by members of the organization's political bureau - Muhammad Nazal and Maher Obeid, and in 2011 he met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza. In addition, in 2008, Gabriels visited Israel and met with The leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, Raad Salah.
Raad Salah, the leader of the northern faction of the Islamic movement, entered prison at Kishon Detention Center, Haifa.
August 16, 2020/Shlomi Gabai
Method of operation: proxy for corporate camouflage
Despite this, it appears that the South African branch of the fund was blocked and was unable to transfer funds to Hamas, said a source familiar with the details.
According to him, a contact person at the fund said that there are some problems with the bank account of the branch registered with the "Absa" bank.
Therefore, in order to bypass the obstacle set by the bank and receive the funds from abroad, they used an account belonging to another fund called "Beit Al-Maqdes" - which manages its account at "Standard Bank"
. in which he requested to transfer funds for a donation and where he indicated the account details of the "Beit Al-Maqdes" foundation. Although this foundation claims to be a registered non-profit organization - no organization is found under this name in the official records, and an online search also does not bring up any relevant results except for an empty Facebook page. So it is not possible Find information about the activities of "Beit Al-Maqdes", its founders or employees.
As an additional funding route for the South African branch of the "Al-Quds" Foundation, the "Beit Al-Maqdes" Foundation operates an additional bank account in another bank called "Nedbank" where it transfers funds from to directly to the branch.
Another interesting detail that is worth mentioning in the context of the financing routes is that the three banks involved in the operation of the Al-Quds Fund are ranked among the four leading banks in South Africa in terms of asset value.
"Standard Bank" is at the top of the list.
On the Facebook page of "Beit al-Maqdes" as mentioned, not much information can be found.
However, it is also possible to find the distribution of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and the attribution of false quotes from Israeli leaders regarding the alleged plots they planned regarding Jerusalem.
In other words, the "Beit Al-Maqdes" fund provides a cover for the "Al-Quds" fund and serves as its proxy, as part of its efforts to transfer funds through its accounts in "Standard Bank" and "Nedbank", thus actually overcoming the barriers they placed on the bank account in "Absa" ".
A poster published by the "Akhnaf Beit al-Maqdes" organization about the rocket fire into Sderot, July 2, 2016/screenshot, Twitter
The one pulling the strings: a businessman from Sana'a, Yemen
Back to Sheikh Hamid Al-Ahmar, who is, as mentioned, the head of the "Al-Quds" Foundation.
Al-Ahmar is responsible for all operations of the fund's transactions from South Africa to its center in Lebanon - according to sources.
Al-Ahmar is a prominent businessman from Sana'a, Yemen.
On his personal website, he boasted that in the past he was the owner of the Islamic bank "Saba" and the Yemeni communications group "Sabaphone".
He was also the vice president of the Arab Tourism Company in the Gulf region and a member of the oil and development committee in the Yemeni parliament, and even served as the honorary consul general of Finland in Yemen.
Along with his many businesses, al-Ahmar is an ardent supporter of terrorist organizations.
On October 8, the day after the massacre by Hamas, he called on the Houthis in Yemen to provide aid to the Palestinians and "move from statements to actions of supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people."
In addition, in 2006, it was reported that he congratulated Hamas on its victory in Gaza in the Palestinian elections and at the same time donated a million dollars to a Palestinian-Yemeni company.
To remove doubt, al-Ahmar also enjoys close ties to the Hamas leadership.
In 2013, he hosted a Hamas delegation led by Osama Hamdan, a leading figure in the organization's political bureau, on the occasion of his children's weddings.
In addition, in September 2021, Hamas leader Haniyeh delivered a eulogy for al-Ahmar's brother following his passing - Haniyeh and al-Ahmer were photographed together in several photos over the years.
The head of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh and the leader of Hamas in Gaza Yahya Sinwar at a rally to mark the organization's 30th anniversary, December 14, 2017/photo processing, Reuters
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Comments:
Nedbank did not agree to confirm, due to bank-client confidentiality, whether the "Beit Al-Maqdes" fund is indeed a client of the bank.
In response, they said: "Nedbank has a comprehensive risk management plan that complies with international standards for the fight against money laundering and the financing and distribution of terrorism."
The bank also added that "'Nedbank' strictly complies with the sanctions and legislation related to this struggle and if the bank becomes aware of any illegal or suspicious activity in customer accounts - the bank will not hesitate to take the necessary actions and in accordance with the relevant legislation."
They also emphasized: "Due to bank-client confidentiality, 'Nedbank' is not allowed to confirm whether the above is a client or not - and cannot comment on client details or any accounts."
More on the same topic:
South Africa
Hamas
Gaza Strip
Funding
terrorism
Gaza war
War of Iron Swords