Raed Salah

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, May 13 (Islamonline.net & New Agencies) - Israeli police arrested 13 Israeli Arabs, accusing them of laundering money for the Islamic movement Hamas, police said Tuesday, May 13.

They said that among those held in the operation overnight is one of the leaders of the Islamist Movement, Raed Salah, Agence-France-Press(AFP) reported. Most of the suspects were arrested in Umm el-Fahm, an Arab town in northern Israel.

Police suspect the 13 of having transferred funds from overseas to Hamas, as well as to families of “suicide” bombers in Israel and Palestinian prisoners.

The suspects are to appear before a judge later Tuesday who will decide if they should remain in custody. Police said they could make more arrests during the day.   

The Israeli Minister of Interiors told the Israeli Army Radio that they have been carrying out investigations for two years, leading to the dentations.

He added, “It is suspected that persons who have been captured were intermediate between Palestinian terrorist organizations and Islamic organizations, centralized abroad”.

“The large sums of money which were transferred to Palestine allowed Hamas to secure financial base, it would face difficulties without it,” he claimed.

Denial

For its part, Hamas denied that Raed Salah or any leaders in occupied Palestine have transferred one shekel since 1948 to the movement.

“Israel know that Raed Salah didn’t transfer money to Hamas, this Israeli campaign is targeting Muslims,” Abdel Alaziz Al-Rintisi said.

“This campaign comes in the context of the Zionist attacks on Islamic movements,” he clarified.

“Sheikh Raed Salah was targeted, especially that he is considered with restoring mosques, and this is strong reason behind his dentations”. 

It is known that Islamic movements in Israel are managing some charitable organizations which provide humanitarian aids to Palestinian families and other similar organizations in occupied Palestine, but Israeli forces argue that such money is transferred to “terrorist organization”, Israeli term for resistance factions.

Mortar Fire

“Israel knows that Raed Salah didn’t transfer money to Hamas,” Rintisi

Meanwhile, five Jewish settlers and six Israeli soldiers were wounded Tuesday morning by Palestinian mortar fire on the southern Gaza Strip settlement bloc of Gush Katif, military sources said, AFP reported.  

In the West Bank, Israeli troops raided the northern refugee camp of Tulkarem and arrested seven Palestinians, Palestinian security sources said.

The Israeli army also demolished a house belonging to a member of the Islamic group Hamas in the nearby town of Qalqilya early Tuesday, Palestinians security sources said.

The Palestinian sources added that three houses under construction in the northern city of Nablus were also torn down by the army, but a military spokesman said only one building was destroyed and added it was being used to store explosives.