On Oct. 20, an Israeli intelligence officer, identified only as Maj.
Lior, described how the military obtained the evidence. Lior said the
Israeli military raided PA offices in 2002 and collected huge amounts of
documents, including those from security agencies.
Federal prosecutors said the PA documents were validated in December
2007. They said PA security forces raided and closed about a dozen Zakat
committees on charges that they were funding Hamas operations in the West
Bank.
"Hamas correctly interpreted the PA measures as an attack on its
charitable institutions," the prosecution said in a pre-trial brief.
Prosecutors were expected to summon additional Israeli witnesses. An
Israeli security official was scheduled to testify in late October.
The Israeli-supplied documents were said to have included a GI
assessment of Hamas funding sources. Another PA document listed the members
of Ramallah committee.
One of the prosecution witnesses was Mohamed Shorbagi, a former
fundraiser for Holy Land and convicted in August 2006. Shorbagi admitted to
lying to federal prosecutors, adding that he later decided to cooperate in
the investigation of the U.S. organization.
"I think that's why I'm in jail, sir," Shorbagi told prosecutor James
Jacks.
