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Holy Land Foundation For Relief And DevelopmentThe Holy Land Foundation is an Islamic charity in the United States and claims to be the largest in that country. The organization's web site states, "Our mission is to find and implement practical solutions for human suffering through humanitarian programs that impact the lives of the disadvantaged, disinherited, and displaced peoples suffering from man-made and natural disasters." Their primary area of focus is with the Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine. They have also provided support to victims after disasters and wars in Bosnia, Kosova, Turkey, and in the United States (Iowa floods, Texas tornadoes, and the Oklahoma City bombing). In December 2001, the assets of the organization where frozen by the FBI and Treasury agents. Treasury officials conceded that a "substantial amount" of the money raised goes to worthy causes, but insisted that Holy Land's primary purpose has been to subsidize Hamas. Repeated appeals to the courts by the Holy Land Foundation to have the freeze lifted have failed. Among the founders of the Holy Land Foundation is Mousa Abu Marzook, a political leader of Hamas, deported from the United States to Jordan in 1997. Marzook was indicted on August 20, 2004 by a United States federal grand jury in Chicago, Illinois. He and two other individuals have been charged with a 15 year conspiracy to raise funds for terrorist attacks against Israel. On July 27, 2004, a federal grand jury in Dallas, Texas, returned a 42 count indictment against the Holy Land Foundation. Charges include: conspiracy, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, tax evasion and money laundering. The indictment alleges that the Holy Land Foundation provided more than $12.4 million to individuals and organizations linked to Hamas from 1995 to 2001, when their asset were frozen. The indictment also names specific officers of the Holy Land Foundation: president Shukri Abu Baker; chairman, Ghassan Elashi; and executive director, Haitham Maghawri and four others: Mohammad el-Mezain, Akram Mishal, Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulraham Odeh. Five of the seven have been arrested. Maghawri and Mishal have not been found and are considered fugitives. Mr. Ghassan Elashi is among the founders of Council on American-Islamic Relations. The Holy Land Foundation claims the Federal Bureau of Investigation falsified evidence and "fabricated a case" against it in an effort to show that it financed Palestinian suicide-bombers. It denies all charges made against it. See Also External References
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