The LA Times had a story yesterday about a three-year investigation into a prominent Saudi Jordanian Bank, Arab Bank, and its involvement in the funnelling of money generated from Saudi government organizations to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) for the purposes of paying the families of suicide bombers. In addition to the obvious importance of this story highlighting the ongoing support of militant Islamist groups by the Saudi government, this story is also interesting because it ties into an often-forgotten scandal of the 2000 election: the use of now-convicted leaders for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) on Bush's campaign via Grover Norquist (check out this 2004 Craig Unger article in Salon for more on that).
So here's the LA Times article:
Arab Bank accused of funding terrorists
The influential Mideast firm denies having knowingly financed Palestinian militants, including suicide bombers.
By Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer
March 4, 2007
WASHINGTON — A three-year investigation into the activities of one of the Middle East's largest and most influential banks is producing extensive evidence of how tens of millions of dollars have flowed from wealthy Saudi Arabians to Palestinian groups that allegedly used some of the money to pay off suicide bombers and their survivors.
The information being turned up by government inquiries and lawyers suing Arab Bank "will give people a better understanding of the way money moves in that part of the world to support Hamas" and other militant groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, said Stephen Kroll, a terrorism finance specialist and until recently counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
"It's important in focusing the public's attention on the issue of what is and what is not acceptable for banks to be involved in," Kroll said.
...
Lawyers suing Arab Bank accuse the firm of facilitating acts of terrorism by providing accounts and other financial services to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and similar groups. Arab Bank also acted as the administrator of a plan in which suicide bombers and others designated as "martyrs" by the Palestinian Authority and other organizations were compensated for their actions on a sliding scale, based on the extent of their injuries, according to documents filed in the cases. The lawsuits charge that the payments — and thus Arab Bank — provided an incentive for suicide bombings.
Arab Bank officials deny such charges and say they have never knowingly supported acts of terrorism. Bank officials say their agreement to pay the fine in 2005 was not an acknowledgment of any wrongdoing.
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The records detail financial transactions that began in 2000 with the start of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Saudi government officials created two special fundraising committees to help Palestinians battle Israeli forces and otherwise resist the occupation, according to court documents.
One of them, the Saudi Committee for Aid to the Al Quds Intifada, decreed that the life of anyone who died as a "martyr" in the conflict with Israel was worth 20,000 Saudi riyals, about $5,300 at the time. The committee began wiring that sum into accounts that families were instructed to set up at Arab Bank branches, the lawsuits allege. The average Palestinian salary is about $3,000 a year.
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Both Hamas and the PIJ are wings of the International Muslim Brotherhood, which has a long and close history with the Saudi government (as well as many western intelligence agencies...it's a messy topic).
For some info on how Grover Norquist has gotten into bed with the Muslim Brotherhood and Saudis to garner Muslim votes for the GOP, go here. One of his partners, interestingly enough, was David Safavian, the former head of the GSA who was also the first individual to end up in jail over the Abramoff scandal. So needless to say, there's a lot under the Norquist/Safavian/GOP Muslim GOTV rock!
And for those interested, check out the 2nd half of this Dave Emory show about the possible Saudi involvement in the sabotaging the Middle East peace process in 2000: FTR#449—The July Surprise. The first half of the show is about the 1934 coup attempt against FDR, which is pretty interesting too.
Enjoy!