By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Aug 24, 2004
Americans Tuesday were left feeling that the “Palestinian” group Hamas may be preparing to export its Islamic terrorist campaign from Israel to the shores of the United States in the very near future.
Hamas has long used the US as a base for money laundering operations aimed at financing attacks against Jewish men, women and children in Israel.
In an incident signaling the group may be set to take their anti-Americanism to the next level, senior Virginia-based Hamas official Ismael Selim Elbarasse was detained last week after police officers spotted him videotaping the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
Police officials told the Associated Press that Elbarasse’s video camera contained close-up footage of the bridge that seemed unusual for a tourist.
He was placed in custody after local police learned he was wanted as a material witness in a separate terror-related court case in Chicago, where he was identified as a co-conspirator in a 15-year operation that financed “Palestinian” terrorist activity.
While the US State Department openly recognizes Hamas as a terrorist organization, Washington regularly criticizes Israeli military efforts to eliminate the group.