Alleged Hamas financier Amin Abu Rashid was acquitted of providing funds to the Palestinian terrorist organization, according to a Wednesday ruling by the Rotterdam Court, but was convicted of evading sanctions and continued management of a prohibited organization.
Abu Rashid was sentenced to a suspended sentence of six months, with a one-year probationary period, a far cry from the three-year prison sentence sought by the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service (PPS).
There was not enough evidence that the 58-year-old Leidschendam transferred approximately €8 million to Hamas between 2010 and 2023, according to the court. While prosecutors argued that the organizations that Abu Rashid worked with were affiliated with Hamas, the court wasn’t convinced of the ties to the terrorist group.
While there was no disagreement that the funds were funneled into Gaza, the court said that it wasn’t proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Hamas specifically benefited over general Gazan recipients. The evidentiary threshold was also not met for proving that Abu Rashid knew that the funding destination was under the control of Hamas.
The court viewed an expert’s testimony on the matter as insufficient, and having been based on news articles and reports by the US and Israel. The court also expressed concern that the expert held a bias against the defendant.
Abu Rashid was convicted of continuing the operation of the al-Aqsa Foundation through the Israa Foundation, the former of which was sanctioned by the European Union until 2014. The removal of the al-Aqsa Foundation was done as the organization ostensibly dissolved, but it did not follow through with that measure. According to the court, the defendant remained the de facto manager of the Israa Foundation, continuing the banned group’s operations.
Abu Rashid misled financial institutions about Hamas ties
The defendant was also convicted of sanctions evasion by concealing his involvement with the Israa foundation from Rabobank.
The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) criticized the ruling as “surprising and shocking,” on X, and stated that it seemed the court set a high evidentiary threshold. CIDI found it “incomprehensible” that the court accepted that it couldn’t be proven that the defendant didn’t know that the designated organization for funds was controlled by Hamas.
“We are talking about someone who frequently visited Gaza, had contacts with Hamas figures, and was active in this network for years. Surely that falls broadly under conditional intent, certainly given the entire file. It is truly bizarre that the court rules this way,” CIDI said on X.
Pro-Palestinian activists announced protests outside the Rotterdam Court on Wednesday, with the Palestinian Community in the Netherlands (PGNL) asserting on social media that the trial was based on evidence from Israeli sources as part of an effort of the “Zionist lobby” to “silence critical voices and solidarity with Palestine.”
“This is not just about one person, but about the right to speak out against injustice, occupation, and oppression. The criminalization of solidarity must never become normalized,” PGNL said on Instagram, urging supporters to attend the demonstration.
Abu Rashid’s alleged Hamas ties and US sanctions history
Abu Rashid has long been accused by the Israeli government of being a leading Hamas official in Europe, and was sanctioned by the US in June, along with his daughter, for their alleged role in financing the terrorist organization. Both Abu Rashid and his daughter were arrested in 2023.
The Israa Foundation and Abu Rashid were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in June for Hamas ties. The al-Aqsa Foundation was sanctioned by OFAC in 2003.
Abu Rishad also worked closely with factions of the Gaza flotilla movement. In 2010, he participated in the MV Mavi Marmara flotilla.
