Washington accuses France over Hamas
The United States has accused France of allowing supporters of Palestinian resistance group Hamas to raise funds on its territory.
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| US charges France of allowing Hamas activities on its territory |
White House and State Department sources are reportedly concerned that France has undermined EU efforts to curb the group’s activities.
“There’s a lot of intelligence to suggest that the French have become increasingly a conduit for funds to Hamas”, a State Department was quoted as saying in the latest issue of Time magazine.
The source added that intelligence indicated that French authorities were “just not taking the steps that are necessary”.
French officials have categorically denied the statements.
“We are battling all terror groups that have activities in France and that use France to bankroll their activities”, said Nathalie Loiseau, a spokeswoman for the French embassy in Washington.
She said if “partners” had some indication or information about Hamas activities in France, “they should tell us and we will investigate”.
Hamas is spearheading a military campaign against Israel to force it to withdraw from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which Israel occupied in 1967.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks targeting Israeli soldiers and civilians since the start of the intifadah in September 2000.
Hamas says its resistance operations are in reaction to Israeli raids and killings of Palestinian civilians and fighters.
Washington has labelled Hamas as a “terrorist” organisation.