The national security Committee, chaired by MK Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit), convened on Sunday for a follow-up debate on the dismantling of non-profit associations that support terrorist organizations – at the request of MKs Limor Sonn Har Melech (Otzma Yehudit), Amit Halevi (Likud), Avichay Buaron (Likud), Tally Gotliv (Likud), Tzvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism), Ariel Kallner (Likud), Boaz Bismuth (Likud), Yitzhak Kroizer (Otzma Yehudit) and Osher Shkalim (Likud).
Committee Chair MK Foghel said, “This discussion is taking place following a classified debate in which we were presented with a comprehensive overview that included all the relevant data. Our goal is to understand how we can act against additional organizations that support terror. I want to take our lessons and apply them on the ground to remove from our necks this impossible notion that we are funding support for terrorism. I would like Israeli Arabs who want to take part in leading the country to deal with the pressing issues on the agenda and not with financing the terrorist organization Hamas. I assume that the desire to bring the [Igatha 48 association] to justice is shared by all committee members present here. Beyond that, I want to stop the funding of other terrorist organizations we have not yet identified. There are money flows here, and we need to reach the root of the funding to solve the problem at its source. Next year is an election year, and we must ensure that hostile actors do not manage to infiltrate the knesset. It must be ensured, through an orderly process, that parties supporting terrorism are prevented from being part of the Knesset. The stronger, wealthier, and more secure terrorist organizations feel, the higher they will raise their heads. We cannot continue feeding the hand that harms us.”
MK Sonn Har Melech said, “Last week, the Registrar of Associations ordered the dismantling of Igatha 48, which was the funding arm of terrorist organizations. I want to begin by expressing deep thanks to the Choose Life Forum of bereaved families and victims of terror, a forum that, for years, has been exposing what the state refuses and refused to see. This is a victory for the families, the pain, and the persistence. The series of investigative reports published by the forum led directly to the historic report that was published today. But friends, this report cannot end with a statement about dissolving the organization. When it comes to illegal activity involving hundreds of millions of shekels, intended to finance our enemies, dismantling is not enough. There must be a criminal investigation, indictments, and also imprisonment. The report explicitly states that the organization transferred funds to entities declared as terrorist organizations, with full knowledge that they were such. According to the Counter-Terrorism Law, this is a serious criminal offense. The fact that those at the head of the organization are senior members of a party currently sitting in the Knesset requires an immediate response. How can we go about our business when the Islamic Movement transferred funds to Hamas and knew exactly to whom the money was going? How do we continue after having discovered that Hamas benefited from seemingly legal funding from the same organization in whose offices coalition negotiations were also held? We will not remain silent and we will not relent. We will demand the arrest and prosecution of everyone involved on the managerial, legal, and political levels.”
MK Sukkot (Religious Zionism) said the war must not be stopped “before the evil is eradicated and all the objectives are achieved.” He added: “The blood of our soldiers was not spilled in vain, and we must know how to eliminate our enemy. It cannot be that individuals who are here as Knesset Members received billions that disappeared, and in the meantime we discover that the money reached terrorist organizations. The truth must be said—the Central Elections Committee disqualified these parties time and again, and each time the Supreme Court brought them back and allowed them to serve in the Israeli parliament. The Arab parties serve here as a political arm of terror, as a political arm of Hamas.”
Yaakov Sela, spokesperson for MK Sonn Har Melech, said “The southern branch of the Islamic Movement has a political arm and a terror-financing arm. In a past interview, MK Mansour Abbas (United Arab List-Ra’am) referred to the transfer of funds to the Igatha 48 organization and claimed he could show all the fund transfers.”
An investigations officer from Lahav 433 said the police unit has been conducting an investigation into Igatha 48 for several months now, with the cooperation of all the relevant bodies.
Related Topics
