INTERPAL Meets With UN Official To Discuss Gaza Medical Convoy

The UK charity INTERPAL has reported that its trustees took part in a meeting with a UN official and others to discuss a proposed European convoy taking medical aid to Gaza. According to the report:

On 21 June a constructive meeting took place in Cairo between Interpal Trustees, a representative of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and other NGOs to discuss the practical aspects of facilitating the entry of a European convoy taking medical aid to the Gaza Strip through Egypt. The convoy is part of Interpal’s ongoing efforts to support the people of Palestine with desperately needed humanitarian aid.

Individuals of interested reported to have attended the meeting included:

• Ibrahim Hewitt (Chair of Trustees, Interpal)

• Oliver McTernan, (Co-Founder & Director, Forward Thinking (UK)

• Dr. Essam Mustafa (Managing Trustee, Interpal; former head of the Union of Good)

• John Ging (Director of Operations in Gaza, UNRWA)

• Dr. Abdel Karim Bensiali ( International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Europe Trust)

INTERPAL is perhaps the most important of the charities comprising the Union of Good, described in a NEFA Foundation report as follows:

The Union of Good is a coalition of Islamic charities that provides financial support to both the Hamas “social” infrastructure, as well as its terrorist activities. It is headed by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, and most of the trustees and member organizations are associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood. The Union of Good was banned by Israel in 2002 and was recently designated a terrorist entity by the United States, although neither Youssef Qaradawi nor any of the Trustees were similarly designated. Despite the fact that action has been taken against some of its member organizations in Europe, many of its other European member organizations continue to operate. Further, the Union of Good itself does not appear to be under investigation in Europe.

Previous posts have discussed the UK Charity Commisison’s order that INTERPAL sever its ties with the Union of Good, likely only a formality given that Essam Mustafa, the former head of the Union of Good is still the Managing Trustee of Interpal.

It should also be noted that Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) director Ghassan Four is also a Trustee of INTERPAL. The PRC is part of the UK Muslim Brotherhood and figured prominently in the recent Gaza flotilla crisis.