US Man Pleads Guilty To Aiding Hamas (But U.S. Begins Financial Programs To Bolster Hamas Opponents)

US man pleads guilty to aiding Hamas
Taken from Jerusalem Post 13.10.06

A man has pleaded guilty to providing material support to the militant group Hamas, designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization, in a case in which the agreement, charges and even the plea hearing were handled in secret.

The US Attorney's Office said the charges and plea agreement involving Mohamed Shorbagi, 42, were filed on Aug. 28 in federal court in Atlanta and had been sealed until Friday, as was the plea hearing.

Shorbagi has agreed to be sentenced to a maximum 15 years in prison at a hearing scheduled for Nov. 3, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, between 1997 and 2001, Shorbagi provided financial support to Hamas and conspired with unnamed others to provide such material support. They say he did so through donations to a group called the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, knowing that some or all of the money was in fact destined for Hamas.

Prosecutors say Shorbagi knew that money provided to HLF was actually funneled to Hamas in part because he was a representative for the organization in the state of Georgia and he had attended meetings at which high-level Hamas officials made presentations condemning Israel. Shorbagi also had hosted high-level Hamas officials at a mosque at which he served as Imam.

Hamas gained control of the Palestinian Authority after winning elections in January. Israel and Western donors have cut hundreds of millions of dollars in transfers to the authority, demanding that Hamas renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept past Israeli-Palestinian agreements. The militant group has rejected the demands, despite widespread hardship caused by the sanctions
--------------------------------------------------------

Whilst the US was charging Mohamed Shorbagi, with trying to help democratically elected Hamas, it was trying to finance the outsting of Hamas. The last thing we need is the US destabilising the Middle East like they did when the Shah of Iran was Installed as dictator over a democratically elected government of Iran.

U.S. begins $42 million program to bolster Hamas opponents
Taken from haaretz, 13.10.06

The United States has quietly started a campaign projected to cost up to $42 million to bolster Hamas's political opponents ahead of possible early Palestinian elections, say officials linked to the program.

The plan to promote alternatives to Hamas includes funding to help restructure Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group and provide training and strategic advice to politicians and secular parties opposed to Hamas Islamists.

"This project supports (the) objective to create democratic alternatives to authoritarian or radical Islamist political options," one official U.S. document obtained by Reuters said.

The U.S. campaign coincides with signs that Abbas is considering sacking the government led by Hamas, which defeated Fatah in January elections, in a process that could lead to a new parliamentary vote.

U.S. officials and consultants say the effort is being conducted without fanfare in order to protect the Palestinians who are receiving U.S. help - some already branded by Hamas leaders as collaborators with Washington and Israel.

"We don't operate with firecrackers and neon signs to attract attention to ourselves," said one of the contractors working with Fatah on behalf of the U.S. State Department.

U.S. funds will also be used to encourage "watchdog" groups and local journalists to investigate the activities of the Hamas-led government and parliament. Up to $5 million would support private Palestinian schools offering an alternative to the Hamas-controlled public education system.

In a response, U.S. Consul General Jacob Walles said: "We are not promoting any particular party. In fact, we will work with any party as long as it is not affiliated with a terrorist organisation," Walles said.

There would be no direct funding of parties, he stressed.

One group, the Arab Thought Forum, said it had been approached by Washington to help two months ago, but that it turned down funding for a programme that would have meant excluding Hamas politicians.

"We couldn't be in a position not to recognize a government elected by the people," said director general Abdel Rahman Abu Arafeh. "So we are not receiving any U.S. money."