Clinton Faces Terror Funding Dilemma

As Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel continue despite the Israeli cease-fire, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will arrive today in Egypt to convene an international conference aimed at coordinating international aid for Gaza.

While Mrs. Clinton and other world leaders contend aid to Gaza will not be transmitted directly to the Hamas-controlled regime in Gaza and will instead be transferred through the Palestinian Authority (PA) and/or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a wide consensus exists in Israel that funds intended for Gaza sent through the PA or UNRWA will wind up in the hands of Hamas and will be used to fund its terror operations.

On Israeli TV’s Channel 1 News Friday night, Israel’s leading political correspondent, Ayala Hasson, summarized Israeli concerns best, saying, “If that funding does not wind up in Hamas terror coffers, then I am a circus ballarina.”

As The Bulletin previously reported last month, a study conducted by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs showed the leadership of the Palestinian Authority remains obligated by the March 2007 Mecca agreement they signed with Hamas. This accord obligates the PA to fund the Hamas regime in Gaza, including the militant group’s terrorist militia.

Meanwhile, James Lindsay, former legal counsel for UNRWA, which receives 31 percent of its funding from the United States government, issued a report indicating the U.N. agency remains aloof when it comes to its employment of terrorists.

The report titled “Fixing UNRWA: Repairing the U.N.’s Troubled System of Aid to Palestinian Refugees,” indicates UNRWA has never taken “steps to ensure the agency is not employing or providing benefits to terrorists and criminals.” It also documents how UNRWA has never allowed its schools to provide unbiased books for its schools.

The Hamas political party known as the Islamic Bloc won more than 80 percent of the vote in the last election for the UNRWA workers association and the UNRWA teachers association, which further makes funding UNRWA suspect.

Should America aid wind up in Hamas’s coffers, criminal implications could ensue because the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of State categorize Hamas as a foreign terrrorist organization (FTO). The severe designation forbids any public body or private individual from extending any aid, directly or indirectly, to Hamas.

A case in point: Richard David Hupper, a 33-year-old York County, Pennsylvania native was sentenced last August to three and a half years in a U.S. federal prison for providing $20,000 for humanitarian aid to Hamas, because of its FTO status.

In his defense, Mr. Hupper said that he was supplying funds that would only be earmarked for Hamas’ humanitarian needs, a defense rejected by a U.S. federal court.

When interviewed by Israel television, Batya Ketar, a Sderot activist, commented:

“If Mr. Hupper was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for providing Hamas terrorists with only $20,000, how much time could Ms. Clinton get for delivering $900 million to Hamas terrorists?”

David Bedein Can Be Reached At dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com