Interpal: cleared twice, smeared again

Notorious web windbag Robert Spencer has decided to repeat Israeli intelligence “information” that the registered British charity Interpal is a “Hamas front”. This is, of course, a common tactic of his gang, and the facts about Interpal have been known for some time. Here they are again:

The following all come from the England & Wales Charity Commission’s recent report on its investigations into Interpal:

Interpal had been subject to a Charity Commission inquiry in 1996 into allegations that some of its funds had been misappropriated for the political or violent militant activities of Hamas in Palestine. This inquiry found no evidence of inappropriate activity, and the information available indicated that Interpal was a well-run organisation. A small number of suggestions were made on how the charity could further improve its procedures.

In April 2003 the Commission contacted Interpal’s trustees because similar allegations had been made. The Commission’s aim was to determine how Interpal’s working practises had changed, if at all, since 1996, especially in light of the increased tensions during recent years in the region. Detailed examination of Interpal’s practises and record keeping found that it had improved its procedures and record keeping since the Commission’s previous Inquiry, although these procedures could be further enhanced by introducing a greater degree of independent verification of the work done by Interpal’s partners in the region on its behalf.

On 21 August 2003, in a Presidential decree, the Government of the United States of America (US Authorities) designated Interpal as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” organisation for allegedly supporting Hamas’ political or violent militant activities.

As a result of this, the CC-E&W opened a new investigation, which led to this:

The US Authorities were unable to provide evidence to support allegations made against Interpal within the agreed timescale. … The Commission concluded that in the absence of any clear evidence showing Interpal had links to Hamas’ political or violent militant activities, Interpal’s bank accounts should be unfrozen and the Inquiry closed. The bank accounts were ‘unfrozen’ and the Inquiry was closed on 24 September 2003.

The reason why it may appear that Interpal is funding Hamas may come from this, which Interpal’s chief of trustees freely admitted to the Guardian:

“Hamas is an ideology as much as an organisation. We deal with peo ple whether they are Hamas or whether they are Fatah.

“Palestinian society is riven by factions but we don’t look at that, we look at it on the basis of need.”