Washington, May 30: US has added Al-Aqsa Foundation, a leading fund raising organisation for the Hamas militant group, to its list of specially designated global terrorist entities. The action taken by treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) immediately blocks all assets of the Al-Aqsa Foundation and prohibits US financial institutions from doing business with the organisation, the Treasury Department said in a statement yesterday. "By designating the Al-Aqsa Foundation, we have deprived the Hamas terrorist organisation of a vital source of funding and have shut off yet another pipeline of money financing terror," treasury secretary John Snow said in a release.
Treasury officials said OFAC's action also highlights growing international cooperation in the campaign to cut off terrorists' sources of financial support. The treasury's move comes ahead of next week's crucial summit between US President George W Bush and Israeli leader Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Premier Mahmud Abbas and Bush's meeting with Arab leaders in Egypt.
Earlier in the day, British authorities had taken similar action to freeze Al-Aqsa assets.
Al-Aqsa has offices in several countries, treasury said. Bureau Report