Thread by @Levitt_Matt

1. On Aug 23, the day an Israeli teen was killed & her father & brother injured in a terror attack, The Jewish Chronicle published an apology to the UK charity Interpal which claimed defamation re Chronicle reporting noting the US accuses the group of ties to #Hamas

2. Interpal denies these charges, & is not banned in the UK where it operates legally. But Interpal’s dismissal of these charges does not make them any less significant. Let’s review just some of the evidence.

3. In 2003, @USTreasury designated Interpal as "a principal charity utilized to hide the flow of money to HAMAS” adding that “Reporting indicates that Interpal is the fundraising coordinator of HAMAS.” treasury.gov/press-center/p…

@USTreasury 4. Treasury said Interpal role “is of type that includes supervising activities of charities, developing new charities in targeted areas, instructing how funds should be transferred from one charity to another, & even determining public relations policy” treasury.gov/press-center/p…

@USTreasury 5. Five yrs later, @USTreasury designated the umbrella charity organization “Union of Good” as “an organization created by #Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization” & linked Interpol to Union of Good treasury.gov/press-center/p…

@USTreasury 6. @USTreasury found that among the primary financiers of Union of Good projects are several organizations designated for providing support to Hamas and other terrorist groups, "including the International Palestine Relief and Development Fund (Interpal)” treasury.gov/press-center/p…

@USTreasury 7. @USTreasury noted closeness of these organizations to the EU-designated #Hamas: “Union of Good's executive leadership & board of directors includes Hamas leaders, Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), and other terrorist supporters…” treasury.gov/press-center/p…

@USTreasury 8. Key part re Interpal per @USTreasury: “The secretary general of Union of Good, for example, also acts as the vice-chairman of UK-based Interpal,…. As of mid-2007, this official served on the Hamas executive committee under Hamas leader Khaled Misha'al” treasury.gov/press-center/p…

@USTreasury 9. So, according the US govt, an Interpal official sat on the #Hamas executive committee under the leadership of the (personally designated) Hamas secretary-general treasury.gov/press-center/p…

@USTreasury 10. An Israeli Security Agency report on the Union of Good specifically noted Interpal, adding that it’s vice-chairman “is a senior Hamas activist” shabak.gov.il/SiteCollection…

@USTreasury 11. The Israeli government has also designated Interpal as a banned terrorist organization justice.gov.il/En/Units/FBPS/…

@USTreasury 12. It might therefore surprise that The Jewish Chronicle was forced to issue an apology for simply stating that Interpal is “a Muslim charity that was deemed by the US a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organisation in 2003” bit.ly/3459rVh

@USTreasury 13. The Chronicle apology notes Interpal strongly contests its designation, & operates legally under UK law. It adds: “We accept that neither Interpal, nor its Trustees, have ever been involved with or provided support for terrorist activity of any kind” thejc.com/news/uk-news/t…

@USTreasury 14. But evidence suggests otherwise. Like the 2003 US-German investigation of Mohammad Ali Moayad, head of a Hamas charity in Yemen, who offered an FBI informant a receipt for $70,000 to Interpal as proof of his ability "to get money to the Jihad" washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysi…

@USTreasury 15. The @ChtyCommission investigated Interpal several times, requiring some adjustments but never shutting it down. And yet, the Commission's Chief Executive Andrew Hind said: "Our report does not give the charity a clean bill of health.” researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06…

@USTreasury @ChtyCommission 16. Hind continued: “The commission has formally directed the charity to end its membership of the Union for Good, an organisation that has had designated entities - because of concerns about possible terrorist links - among its membership.” researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06…

@USTreasury @ChtyCommission 17. The last Charity Commission review resulted from a @BBCPanorama documentary showing that funds from Interpal "helped build up Hamas into what it is today" by sending most funds thru partner charities some of which promoted Hamas' ideology news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/fr…

@USTreasury @ChtyCommission @BBCPanorama 18. Various banks have refused to provide Interpal with banking services, while other banks have been the subject of civil suits in US courts for their ties to Interpal, a US-designated specially designated terrorist entity sullcrom.com/siteFiles/Publ…

@USTreasury @ChtyCommission @BBCPanorama 19. Evidence in such cases includes payments from Interpal to Hamas-controlled charity committees like the al-Islah Charitable Society, among others osenlaw.com/sites/default/…

@USTreasury @ChtyCommission @BBCPanorama 20. More recently, an Interpal official was individually designated by the Israeli government following the 2014 kidnapping & murder of 3 Israeli teens as part of an effort to target what Israel called the “Hamas HQ in Europe” newrepublic.com/article/118349…

@USTreasury @ChtyCommission @BBCPanorama 21. So, despite the Chronicle’s apology, a body of evidence points 2 Interpal’s ties 2 Hamas. Interpal denies these ties, & the group is not banned in the UK, but that should not preclude the media from pointing out that the group has been the subject of terrorist designations

@USTreasury @ChtyCommission @BBCPanorama 22. A @HouseofCommons ‘Standard Note’ re Interpal puts it well. Why The House of Commons can say this but the @JewishChron cannot is a matter worthy of further reflection researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06…