May 5, 2005

US blacklists charity as front for Islamic Jihad

Another jihad charity. From Reuters:

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday froze the assets of a charity it called a front for the militant Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and said it was seeking safe channels for donations to Palestinians in need.

This afternoon we designated the Elehssan Society, including all of its branches, as a charitable front for the brutal terrorist group the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for Enforcement Stuart Levey said.

"Elehssan masquerades as a charity while actually helping to finance PIJ's acts of terror against the Israeli people and other innocents," he told a congressional hearing. Elehssan operates in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon.