WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Treasury Department has designated the Al-Aqsa Foundation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity under Executive Order 13224. As a result of this designation by Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), all assets of the Al-Aqsa Foundation are blocked and transactions with the organization are prohibited. By designating the Al-Aqsa Foundation, we have deprived the Hamas terrorist organization of a vital source of funding and have shut off yet another pipeline of money financing terror. Todays action demonstrates our commitment to prevent the perversion of charitable organizations for terrorist ends,Secretary Snow stated. Other nations, including the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Britain, Luxembourg and Switzerland, have also taken action against the Al-Aqsa Foundation. The AL-AQSA FOUNDATION is a critical part of Hamas' transnational terrorist support infrastructure. Hamas is designated by the Secretary of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (66 Fed. Reg. 51088) and as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224, Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Persons Who commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism. Hamas is known to raise at least tens of millions of dollars per year throughout the world using charitable fundraising as cover. The AL-AQSA FOUNDATION, until recently headquartered in Germany, uses humanitarian relief as cover to provide support to the Hamas terrorist organization. Mahmoud Amr, the Director of the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION in Germany, is an active figure in Hamas. The AL-AQSA FOUNDATION also is known to maintain branch offices in The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Pakistan, South Africa, Yemen and elsewhere. AL-AQSA FOUNDATION offices are included in lists of organizations that contributed to the Hamas-affiliated Charity Coalition in 2001 and 2002. Since the summer of 2002, authorities in The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and the U.S. have taken administrative and/or law enforcement action against the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION and some of its leaders based on evidence of the organization's support for Hamas and other terrorist groups. Pursuant to a July 31, 2002 administrative order, German authorities closed the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION in Germany for supporting Hamas. In April 2003, Dutch authorities blocked AL-AQSA FOUNDATION assets in The Netherlands based on information that funds were provided to organizations supporting terrorism in the Middle East. Criminal charges against some AL-AQSA FOUNDATION officials were also filed. On January 1, 2003, the Danish government charged three AL-AQSA FOUNDATION officials in Denmark for supporting terrorism. Also, the head of the Yemeni branch of the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION, Shaykh Muhammad Ali Hassan AL-MUAYAD, was arrested for providing support to terrorist organizations including Al-Qaeda and Hamas in January 2003 by German authorities. In Scandinavia, the Oslo, Norway-based Islamic League used the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION in Sweden to channel funds from some members of the Islamic community in Oslo, Norway to Hamas. In late 2001 for example, a human courier was used to transfer funds from the Islamic League in Norway to the AL- AQSA FOUNDATION in Sweden. In another instance in 2002, money, gold and jewelry were collected by the Islamic League (in Oslo, Norway) and transferred to the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION in Sweden to be provided to Hamas. At the Islamic League of Norway's annual conference held on May 18 and 19, 2002, the General Secretary of the Islamic League in Sweden urged all Muslims to provide support and to participate in continuing the suicide operations against Israel. He called for further financial support from all conference participants to the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION in Sweden, noting that this financial support could contribute to the destruction of Israel. Strong ties have existed between the Hamas and AL-AQSA FOUNDATION offices in Yemen. Officials of the organizations met frequently and the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION was identified as a Hamas-affiliate. As discussed in a previously unsealed FBI Affidavit, AL-MUAYAD, the head of the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION in Yemen, has allegedly provided money, arms, recruits and communication equipment for Al-Qaeda. At least until AL-MUAYAD's arrest, Ali Muqbil, the General Manager of the AL-AQSA FOUNDATION in Yemen and a Hamas official, transferred funds on AL-MUAYADs orders to Hamas, PIJ or other Palestinian organizations assisting Palestinian fighters. The disbursements were recorded as contributions for charitable projects. Through channels such as this, AL-MUAYAD reportedly provided more than U.S. $3 million to the Palestinian cause.
On June 6, 2003, OFAC issued the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594 (68 FR 34196, June 6, 2003 (“the Regulations”), to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 of September 23, 2001, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism” (66 FR 49079, September 25, 2001). OFAC has amended the Regulations on several occasions.
On September 9, 2019, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–1706) (IEEPA) and the United Nations Participation Act (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), issued E.O. 13886, “Modernizing Sanctions To Combat Terrorism” (84 FR 48041, September 12, 2019), effective September 10, 2019. In E.O. 13886, the President, finding it necessary to consolidate and enhance sanctions to combat acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism by foreign terrorists, terminated the national emergency declared in E.O. 12947 of January 23, 1995, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (60 FR 5079, January 25, 1995), and revoked E.O. 12947, as amended by E.O. 13099 of August 20, 1998, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (63 FR 45167, August 25, 1998). In addition, the President amended E.O. 13224, in order to build upon initial steps taken in E.O. 12947, to further strengthen and consolidate sanctions to combat the continuing threat posed by international terrorism, and in order to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency declared in E.O. 13224, with respect to the continuing and immediate threat of grave acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism committed by foreign terrorists, which include acts of terrorism that threaten the Middle East peace process.
Section 1 of E.O. 13886 replaces in its entirety section 1 of E.O. 13224, which had been amended by a number of prior Executive orders (E.O. 13224, as amended by all such authorities, is referred to herein as “amended E.O. 13224”), but does not amend the Annex to E.O. 13224, which was previously amended by E.O. 13268 of July 2, 2002, “Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Taliban and Amendment of Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001” (67 FR 44751, July 3, 2002) (“amended Annex to E.O. 13224”).
