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Today, in federal court in Dallas, U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis sentenced the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) and five of its leaders following their convictions by a federal jury in November 2008 on charges of providing material support to Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization, announced acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas, and David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. All defendants are presently in federal custody. “Today's sentences mark the culmination of many years of painstaking investigative and prosecutorial work at the federal, state and local levels....

Two founder members of what was once the biggest Muslim charity in the US have each been jailed for 65 years. Shukri Abu Baker, 50, and Ghassan Elashi, 55, were convicted of channelling funds to the Palestinian militant group, Hamas. Three other members of the Holy Land Foundation were jailed for between 15 and 20 years by a Dallas court. The charity was found guilty last year of sending $12m (£7.4m) to fund social programmes controlled by Hamas. The five men were convicted in November on charges ranging from money laundering to supporting terrorism.

The Holy Land Foundation gave more than $12 million to Palestinian terrorists, prosecutors in Texas said in closing arguments at the Muslim charity's trial. "Don't let the defendants deceive you that what they did, they did to support widows and orphans," federal prosecutor Barry Jonas told a jury Monday in Dallas. A trial last year against Holy Land ended in a mistrial, the Dallas Morning New reported Tuesday, noting prosecutors this time eliminated much of their previous case but kept their essential charge that Holyland was created to raise money for Hamas, deemed a terrorist group under U.S. law.Lawyers for...

Aid push made for 5 tied to Hamas Backers seek to raise $500,000 for Muslim brothers' legal team 02/15/2003 By STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News Supporters of five brothers accused of doing business with Middle Eastern terrorists are asking the Dallas-area Muslim community to help raise $500,000 to pay for a team of prominent attorneys hired to defend the men. The Muslim Legal Fund of America, a nonprofit group established by friends of Richardson businessman Ghassan Elashi and his brothers, is having a fund-raiser Saturday at the Dallas Central Mosque. A leaflet distributed by the fund described...

Vancouver mosque leader preached killing Jews Last Updated Fri, 22 Oct 2004 08:08:48 EDT VANCOUVER - The leader of the Vancouver mosque, attended by the Canadian killed recently in Chechnya, has been found to be preaching about killing Jews. Mosque leader Younus Kathradra made the speech in in response to the death of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas. He was killed last spring in an Israeli helicopter attack. A recording was posted on the mosque's web site. In it Kathradra says " ... we are dealing with a people ... the brothers of the monkeys and the...

On Tuesday the federal authorities struck another serious blow against the toleration of Islamist terrorist activities on American soil, by arresting five former leaders of the so-called Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, which, as I have previously argued, would be better called the Holy War Foundation.   HLF is, after all, a front for the Palestinian suicide terror gang Hamas, which is mainly funded by Saudi Arabia. < -snip- > HLF long functioned as the nerve center of the “Wahhabi lobby” in the U.S., headquartered in Texas, with branch offices in Paterson, N.J., Bridgeview, Ill., and San Diego.  Established...

The federal government's roundup Tuesday of seven Middle Eastern men on charges of funding the terrorist group Hamas yielded an unexpected disclosure: a link between Dallas City Hall and Hamas’ top leader in Israel’s occupied territories. North Texas resident Mufid Abdulquader is a city of Dallas engineer who was among the men charged Tuesday in a 42-count indictment for allegedly using the Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation to funnel millions of dollars to Hamas terrorist operations. But Abdulquader, a Palestinian and naturalized U.S. citizen, has a connection to Hamas shared by none of the others. Abdulquader’s Syrian-based half brother is a...

Muslim charity, seven men charged| Justice Department alleges ties to Hamas| The Associated Press|Updated: 3:50 p.m. ET July 27, 2004DALLAS| - A major American Muslim charity and seven of its officers were charged Tuesday with providing millions of dollars in support to Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization blamed for dozens of suicide bomber attacks in Israel. The 42-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas, alleges that the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development provided more than $12.4 million to individuals and organizations linked to Hamas from 1995 to 2001. The U.S. government froze the charity’s assets...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A major American Muslim charity and seven of its officers were charged Tuesday with providing millions of dollars in support to Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization blamed for dozens of suicide bomber attacks in Israel. The 42-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas, alleges that the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development provided more than $12.4 million to individuals and organizations linked to Hamas from 1995 to 2001. The U.S. government froze the charity's assets in December 2001. The indictment names the foundation along with its president, Shukri Abu Baker; chairman, Ghassan Elashi;...

U.S. Indicts Muslim Charity in Texas U.S. Indictment Charges Texas Muslim Charity, 7 Men With Providing Millions of Dollars to Hamas The Associated Press WASHINGTON July 27, 2004 — A major American Muslim charity and seven of its officers were charged Tuesday with providing millions of dollars in support to Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization blamed for dozens of suicide bomber attacks in Israel. The 42-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas, alleges that the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development provided more than $12.4 million to individuals and organizations linked to Hamas from 1995 to...