German authorities on Monday closed the Al-Aqsa organization in the northwestern city of Aachen. According to German sources, this organization collected money for the Hamas.
German investigators seized some $296,000 from Al-Aqsa's accounts in Aachen and Cologne, Interior Minister Otto Schily told reporters Monday. Additionally, many documents were seized in searches of the organization's premises and members' apartments, he said, according to AP.
Among its activities, Al-Aqsa calls for donations to support "martyr families," which authorities interpreted as support for the families of suicide bombers, the German minister said.
Funds collected by Al-Aqsa were transferred to "social and humanitarian organizations in the Palestinian territories which are connected with the organizational structure of Hamas or its associates," Schily said.
For his part, Mahmoud Amr, 45, chairman of Al-Aqsa, established about ten years ago, rejected claims the organization was funneling money to Hamas. "That accusation is false," Amr told AP. "We have supported neither Hamas nor any other organization. We help needy people." (Albawaba.com)
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