Israel bans UK-based Muslim charity

In a widening of crackdown on Hamas, Zionist Regime’s War Minister declares Islamic Relief Worldwide 'unauthorized', says charity run by Hamas members, serves as source of funding for movement.

Israel on Thursday banned a British-based charity from operating in the occupied West Bank, accusing Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) of being a source of funding for the Palestinian Hamas movement.

The edict was issued as part of Israel's crackdown on Hamas, through raids on its West Bank institutions and arrests of suspected activists, after accusing the group of abducting three Israeli teenagers who disappeared near a Jewish settlement a week ago.

 Zionist Regime’s War Minister Moshe Yaalon signed an order declaring the IRW an "unauthorized” association" and empowering Israeli authorities to seize any funds the group might send to Palestinians in the West Bank.

No comment was immediately available from the IRW in Britain.

Officials in an affiliate office, International Relief in Palestine, in the Gaza Strip said they had no information about the Israeli decision.

According to IRW's website, it has been working in the Palestinian territories since 1994, tending to under privileged, malnourished and traumatized children as well as creating jobs and encouraging entrepreneurship with interest-free loans.

In a statement, Yaalon said some of the charity's chapters, including those in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, were run by Hamas members.

"The IRW is one of the sources of Hamas's funding and a means for raising funds from various countries in the world," the statement said.

"We do not intend to allow it to function and abet terrorist activity against Israel."