A coalition of 45 organizations sent a letter to the US Treasury Department petitioning to sanction specific non-profits that reportedly serve as terror proxies, according to a statement by the Zachor Legal Institute in February.
"This would disallow all financial institutions operating in the United States from offering them service or support of any kind, effectively end their ability to fundraise," the institute clarified.
"In light of the change in administration and the appointment and confirmation of Secretary Bessent, Zachor Legal Institute and a wide coalition of organizations are now submitting this request, hopeful that the new administration’s focus on combating terrorism will ensure prompt attention and action," the statement read.
The Biden administration's treasury department's October 2024 decision to add Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Network and its leader Khaled Barakat to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list for their support of the designated foreign terror organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was "a long overdue step," according to the institute.
The letter called on the Treasury Department to follow suit with another six "faux humanitarian groups" for their connections to terror and name them as SDNs.
The other six terror proxies
The coalition's letter identified the other six proxies as: The Union of Palestinian Women's Committees (UPWC), ADDAMEER - Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Addameer), Bisan Center for Research and Development (Bisan), Al-Haq Organization (Al-Haq), Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P), and Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC).
"The coalition believes that if the other six organizations that, like Samidoun, operated on behalf of the PFLP, are not designated as SDNs, there is a strong likelihood that Samidoun’s terror-supporting activities will simply be taken on by one or more of its non-SDN affiliates," the institute wrote in a statement.
"While these six organizations are less recognized in the United States, there is strong evidence indicating that they are integral to the network supporting Palestinian terrorism. It is incumbent on OFAC to now make the same SDN designations for these six organizations as it did for Samidoun," the statement continued.
"While these organizations are less recognized in the United States, there is strong evidence indicating that they are integral to the network supporting Palestinian terrorism and warrant the same SDN designations as Samidoun," the coalition's letter to the Treasury Department read.
"The same factual predicates that led to the Samidoun designation apply to the six other members of the Six Plus One Organizations," the letter argues.
The letter also quoted Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith, who said, "Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups...The United States, together with Canada and our like-minded partners, will continue to disrupt those who seek to finance the PFLP, Hamas, and other terrorist organizations."
Zachor Legal Institute provided an evidence-based argument, which stated that "Fatah has identified Addameer as an affiliate of the PFLP. Al-Haq, whose director Shawan Jabarin has been legally linked to PFLP, continues to operate despite credit cards blocking donations due to its terror ties. Additionally, the Union of Palestinian Women Committees has been recognized by Fatah, USAID, and others as a PFLP affiliate, with Israeli investigations revealing connections with PFLP."
“As we are now seeing with the revelations that prior administrations laundered billions of taxpayer dollars through faux charities and social justice groups to fund extremism, the time has finally come for the federal government to take decisive action to eradicate the flow of money to groups that are acting to undermine the founding principles of the country as they spread hate and discrimination,” President of the institute Marc Greendorfer said.
Proxies are playing 'Whac-a-Mole'
"As outlined in the JASTA Law Review Article, the operations of the Six Plus One Organizations are interconnected. These organizations play a game of 'Whac-A-Mole' with regulators, one organization popping up to take over the activities of any other that has been subjected to legal scrutiny," the letter argued, explaining why multiple organizations may have formed for the same purpose.
"The 2022 PFLP Proxies Letter described how the PFLP inserts operatives to control the activities of the faux charities/humanitarian organizations, turning them into puppets that are controlled directly by the PFLP to engage in wire fraud, money laundering, and the provision of material support to foreign terror organizations," the letter argued.
"Publicly available sections of the Shin Bet Report show how the PFLP uses civil society institutions to divert funds intended for humanitarian purposes to support terrorist activities. These groups work in coordination as a humanitarian front, essential to the PFLP’s core mission of terrorism," it continued.
The letter concluded by urging the new Treasury Secretary to "take decisive action to investigate and address any remaining gaps in countering terror financing, especially given the previous administration's less effective approach to this critical issue."