Saudi Arabia has acknowledged that it sends funds to Hamas.
The top Saudi spokesman in the United States told a Washington press conference the kingdom has relayed funds that
finance what he termed Hamas's political wing. He said the money
arrives via governments and non-governmental organizations.
Western intelligence sources say that Saudi Arabia provides Hamas
with about $30 million a year, raised through foundations and donations from
members of the royal family.
The disclosure came as the
United States has reiterated its appeal for Arab leaders to end the funding
of Hamas. President George Bush raised the issue of Saudi
funding to Hamas during the summit in Sharm e-Sheik last week, Middle East Newsline reported.
Adel Al Jubeir, the special adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul
Aziz, told a news conference in Washington on Thursday that the kingdom does
not support Islamic insurgency attacks. But he said Riyad funds
organizations that could relay money to the "political wing of Hamas for
charities they manage in the occupied territories."
"Whether these are families that have lost a loved one to violence, we
do not know," Al Jubeir said. "But we certainly don't give them money
because a family member blew himself up in a suicide bombing."
"I think you're quite aware that at the Red Sea summits there were
fairly specific statements about what they would do," State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher, referring to Saudi leaders, said in a briefing on
Thursday. "The Saudis have already started to detail how they're
implementing that, and that's good."
Al Jubeir, regarded as Saudi Arabia's leading spokesman in the United
States, appeared uncertain in detailing the kingdom's links with Hamas. At
one point in his briefing at the Saudi embassy, he said Riyad's support to
the Palestinians is similar to the humanitarian aid provided by the United
States.
"Our funding to the Palestinians goes through international
organizations, the UN High Commission for Refugees, the International Red
Cross, International Red Crescent and through the Palestinian Authority," Al
Jubeir said. "A lot of the institutions may be run or managed by the
political wing of Hamas. That may be the case. I'm not an expert on this.
But we do not fund terrorists."
The Saudi adviser refused to support the State Department's
classification of Hamas as a terrorist group. He also refused to criticize
Hamas suicide bombings of Israeli civilians.
"We condemn anyone who takes the lives of innocent people," Al Jubeir
said.
The Saudi adviser outlined new regulations to monitor Islamic charities
to ensure that they are not diverted to what he termed "terrorist financing
and money laundering." The Saudi campaign was intensified in wake of the May
12 Al Qaida suicide bombings against Western compounds in Riyad.
Al Jubeir said the kingdom has interrogated more than 1,000 people
arrested more than 300 and dismissed a large number of clerics deemed as
having promoted Islamic attacks. He said the kingdom-sponsored Al Haramein
Foundation has closed its offices outside Saudi Arabia. Al Haramein has been
cited by the United States as an organization that has funneled money to Al
Qaida and aligned groups.
"Hundreds of imams [mosque preachers] who violated prohibitions against
preaching intolerance have been removed from their positions and more than
1,000 have been suspended and referred to educational programs," Al Jubeir
said.