DALLAS, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- An FBI agent testified this week that a Texas charity plotted to undermine peace in the Middle East by secretly supporting Hamas.
Six executives of the Holy Land Foundation, based in Richardson, Texas, are on trial for allegedly funneling at least $12 million to the militant Palestinian group, which was designated a terrorist organization in 1995, the Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday.
The Holy Land case is the largest U.S. case alleging financial aid to terrorists so far.
The group’s supporters, however, say its activities are strictly humanitarian and the charges are the product of post-Sept. 11 racism.
The federal government’s case against the foundation rests largely on evidence presented by FBI Special Agent Lara Burns, the lead investigator in the case. During her six days of testimony, which ended Tuesday, Burns said Holy Land organizers were at a 1993 meeting where they and representatives of other groups discussed ways to aid Hamas from the United States.
Burns’ testimony was meant to support the government’s claim that there was a long-term, large-scale conspiracy between U.S. Muslim groups and Hamas.
Prosecutors’ efforts will be useless, however, if the trial cannot be completed due to lack of jurors, the newspaper said. The trial started July 25 with 12 jurors and six alternates, but now there are only three alternates left for a trial that will likely last several more months.
