U.S. Treasury Sanctions ‘Sham Overseas Charity Networks Funding Hamas and the PFLP’

The U.S. Treasury just sanctioned fraudulent charities supporting key Palestinian terrorist groups.

On June 10, Treasury designated five entities for funding Hamas: Al Weam Charitable Society, Filistin Vakfi, El Baraka Association for Charitable and Humanitarian Work, Israa Charitable Foundation Netherlands, and Associazione Benefica La Cupola d’Oro. Treasury also sanctioned five individuals affiliated with the entities: Muhammad Sami Muhammad Abu Marei, Zeki Abdullah Ibrahim Ararawi, Ahmed Brahimi, Amin Ghazi Abu Rashed, and Israa Abou Rashed. Treasury also sanctioned another fraudulent charity — Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association — which is linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Nonprofits as Terrorist Fronts

Hamas and other terrorist groups use charities to raise funds. The U.S. government sanctioned the Holy Land Foundation in 2001, Interpal in 2003, KindHearts in 2006, the Union of Good in 2008, and many other nonprofits for funding Hamas. In 2021, Israel designated seven nonprofits, including Addameer and Samidoun, for being PFLP fronts. Jointly with Canada, the United States listed Samidoun in October 2024 for fundraising on behalf of the PFLP.

Hamas-Linked Targets of the Most Recent U.S. Designation

Treasury described Al Weam, which operates in Gaza and is run by Hamas operative Abu Marei, as “clandestinely controlled by Hamas and fully integrated into Hamas’s military wing.” Filistin Vakfi is based in Turkey and raised funds to support Hamas terrorism, stated Treasury, also noting that El Baraka, based in Algeria, “diverted funds intended for humanitarian causes to fund Hamas.” El Baraka is one of the organizers of a convoy currently seeking to bring supplies to Gaza from Algeria.

Israa, a member of the Union of Good, is run by Amin Abou Rashed and his daughter. Amin mingled with European politicians through the European Palestinians Conference (EPC) that he ran. Dutch authorities arrested the one-armed Amin and his daughter in June 2023 for funneling more than $6 million to Hamas. Several other EPC officials are tied to Hamas, including the previously U.S.-sanctioned Mohammad Hanoun, who founded Associazione Benefica La Cupola d’Oro, the Italian charity included in the most recent designation.

Addameer: The Sanctioned PFLP Front Group

Treasury stated that Khaled Barakat, a U.S.-sanctioned PFLP official tied to Samidoun, “coordinated with the PFLP to send funds to Addameer and to arrange meetings between Addameer and Samidoun.” Senior PFLP politician Khalida Jarrar was the vice chair of Addameer’s board until 2017. An accountant for Addameer was part of a cell that murdered an Israeli teenager in 2019.

The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard’s law school, one of the focal points of the encampments, submitted a joint report with Addameer in 2022 falsely castigating Israel as guilty of apartheid. The same year, Harvard’s FXB Center for Health and Human Rights hosted Addameer’s director general in a session moderated by a Harvard doctoral student who previously worked for Addameer.

Shutting Down Hamas’s and the PFLP’s International Networks

Treasury’s imposition of sanctions on these groups is an important step in dismantling Hamas and the PFLP. The terrorist groups have spent decades building networks of “charitable” fronts globally, pulling money from the pockets of both the malign and the incredulous. Treasury should build on these designations and sanction other Hamas and PFLP fronts, including those in South Africa.

David May is a research manager and senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where Tzur Goldin is an intern. For more analysis from the author and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow David on X @DavidSamuelMay. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.