The NEFA Foundation has released a new report in its Union of Good series titled “The Union of Good: INTERPAL and the U.K. Member Organizations.” According to the report synopsis:
The Union of Good (UG) is a coalition of Islamic charities that provides financial support to both the Hamas “social” infrastructure, as well as its terrorist activities. In November 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department designated the UG stating:
“The leadership of Hamas created the Union of Good in late-2000, shortly after the start of the second Intifada, in order to facilitate the transfer of funds to Hamas. The Union of Good acts as a broker for Hamas by facilitating financial transfers between a web of charitable organizations–including several organizations previously designated under E. O. 13224 for providing support to Hamas–and Hamas-controlled organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. The primary purpose of this activity is to strengthen Hamas’ political and military position in the West Bank and Gaza, including by: (i) diverting charitable donations to support Hamas members and the families of terrorist operatives; and (ii) dispensing social welfare and other charitable services on behalf of Hamas. ”
The U. K. is an important area of operation for the UG, with six known member organizations operating within its borders, including INTERPAL, probably the single most important UG member. As with the UG itself, the U. K. member organizations, their donors, and their leaders are often associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood and are themselves frequently inter-related, sometimes sharing Trustees, banks, and in some cases, using each other to deliver aid and/or donating to each other. The U. K. member organizations appear to also deliver aid in a similar manner, donating to “partner” organizations in the Palestinian Territories, many of which are associated with Hamas and who are responsible for use of the aid money. It is often difficult to understand how the UG member charity money is actually used, as funded projects are described in only general terms.
An earlier report in the NEFA series covered the Union of Good itself.
Numerous posts have discussed various aspects of the Union of Good including recent difficulties faced by governments in prosecuting some of the member charities in the Scandinavian countries.