Report: Saudi donations make up half of Hamas's budget

[Gimel]

U.S. and Israeli officials estimate that at least 50 percent of Hamas's annual operating budget of about $10 million comes from people in Saudi Arabia, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Nearly all of the some $5 million in donations are given
in cash, making it extremely difficult for Saudi and American authorities to track the money, the Times said.

It quoted American officials and analysts as saying that following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the Saudi portion of Hamas financing
grew larger as donations from the United States, Europe and other Persian Gulf countries dried up.
<snip>
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow who is to arrive in Riyadh on Wednesday on a trip through the Middle East and Central Asia to address the financing of terrorism and economic development, said a major theme was to press Palestinian and Saudi authorities to crack down on Hamas by choking off its funds, the Times said.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/341244.html

Saudi princes, and brothers of bin Ladden, support Hamas.

[molly]

1. Why hasn't this mis-administration done anything about this

they've known about it for a long time.

[rini]

2. I'm surprised

I thought it a lot more than 1/2.

[tinnypriv]

3. Hard to track my ass

They had a goddamn telephon! :puke:

[drdon326]

4. Ohhhh.....that wacky saudi CLOWN prince.

they talk about stopping terrorism with one side of their mouth
and pay for it out of the other.

Ya gotta love em.

[HawkerHurricane]

5. In other news...

Water is wet.
Gasoline burns.
And
Shooting people with guns kills them.

[mike_c]

6. but Iraq was the main bulwark of terrorism in the ME....

The Dear Leader said so. We're all so much better off now that that nasty Saddam dude is gone, sorta'.