Court indicts east Jerusalem man for Hamas fundraising

Maged Juaba is alleged to have served as a money man for the families of imprisoned Hamas terror operatives.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
east Jerusalem 521 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
east Jerusalem 521
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment against Maged Juaba in the Jerusalem District Court on Monday, for allegedly serving as a money man for the families of imprisoned Hamas terror operatives.
Juaba, 33, of Jerusalem, was charged with membership in a terrorist organization and activities relating to funding terrorist purposes.
The allegations in the indictment go as follows: Juaba, who joined Hamas in 2004, worked for Bassem Abu Sanina, who Juaba knew to be a Hamas member residing in Gaza that was freed as part of the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange.
Abu Sanina had been convicted of the 1998 killing of Haim Karman and was serving a life sentence until the exchange. He was in charge of doling out funds to the families of imprisoned Hamas terror operatives, including those who lived in Israel and in the West Bank.
Juaba was his chief agent and middle man for transferring the funds. Abu Sanina would give Juaba direct orders about exactly who received funds, when and how much.
On May 11, Juaba called Haled Agabriah’s wife and visited her in Um al-Fahm where he gave her NIS 15,000 in acknowledgement of Agabriah’s services for Hamas.
Agabriah is currently serving a five year sentence in Gilboa prison for assisting an enemy in a time of war, passing on information to an enemy, contact with a foreign agent and illegal activities with terror assets.
Also, at other times throughout 2013, Juaba, under orders from Abu Sanina, called the wife of Ayman Salhav to let her know that there were funds waiting for her in the Nur organization.
Salhav is serving a seven year sentence in Gilboa prison for security offenses.
Nur is an organization that the state has declared an illegal entity and serves as a financial arm of Hamas, distributing funds to those connected with Hamas.
In October 2013, Juaba called Salhav’s wife again and told her to come to a mosque in the Baab al-amud neighborhood of Jerusalem to collect the funds.
When she arrived at the designated mosque, Juaba gave her $1,800.
The prosecution requested that the court remand Juaba to police custody until the end of the proceedings.
The prosecution also requested to seize NIS 31,000 from Juaba.