Major Palestinian Terrorist Linked To Al-Qaeda And Iran
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While Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is in New York City pleading his case for statehood for his people at the United Nations building, the U.S. Department of State on Thursday added another name to its list of those designated terrorists.
The State Department announced the designation of Hamas’ Muhammad Hisham Muhammad Isma’il Abu Ghazala under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. This action will have a serious impact on the flow of finances to Abu Ghazala by prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with him and freezing any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction.
Abu Ghazala is a major Hamas operative in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli intelligence officials.
In addition to his active involvement with Hamas, Abu Ghazala has links to Iran, the world’s leading State Sponsor of Terrorism, and al-Qaeda.
He is an improvised explosive device (IED) facilitator with connections to multiple IED networks throughout northern Iraq and is also responsible for disseminating numerous remote detonation device designs used by former regime elements and terror organizations in Iraq. He has worked with rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well.
A Central Criminal Court of Iraq arrest warrant for Abu Ghazala was pending as of July 2, 2006, as was a $50,000 award for information leading to his capture.
Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997, Hamas has carried out attacks — such as suicide bombings, rocket launches, improvised explosive device attacks, and shootings — against civilian targets inside Israel.
Abu Ghazala plays an integral role in Hamas and this action is designed to highlight the threat posed by Abu Ghazala while simultaneously assisting and complementing the law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies.
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