STATE ATTORNEY REQUESTS ARREST WARRANT FOR ABU MARZOOK - 31-Jul-95

STATE ATTORNEY REQUESTS ARREST WARRANT FOR ABU MARZOOK

(Communicated by Justice Ministry Spokeswoman)

The State Attorney's Office has submitted a request to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court for an arrest warrant against Musa Muhammad Abu Marzook.

In the request, the State Attorney's Office indicated that it intends to appeal without delay to United States authorities, and request that Abu Marzook be temporarily detained until a request for his extradition can be submitted. In the request, the State Attorney's Office also notes that Abu Marzook is the head of the HAMAS movement's "political bureau," which - inter alia sets HAMAS' policy on important issues, first and foremost of which are its policies vis-a-vis attacks, and orders for its activists to operate within the country, in the territories, and abroad. As part of his responsibilities as head of the "political bureau," Abu Marzook is responsible for transferring funds for HAMAS activities, including military operations.

Between 1990-1993, Abu Marzook several times dispatched emissaries on his behalf to Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, for the purpose of arranging HAMAS military operations. He also took part in transferring funds to the territories in order to purchase weapons which were later used to carry out lethal attacks.

In 1989, he arrived in Gaza and appointed HAMAS activists to be responsible for organizing various apparatuses, and issued detailed instructions for setting up an organizational infrastructure for HAMAS, including active, violent activity.

In 1991, he worked in the United States to increase HAMAS' military activity in the territories. In 1992, he sent an emissary from the United States to the territories, who carried with him a considerable sum of money to finance HAMAS' activities.

The emissary met with a central HAMAS activist in the Hebron area, who was then engaged in establishing a military apparatus in the area, and gave him approximately $100,000. With this money, many weapons were also purchased, which were then used to carry out lethal attacks in Hebron, during which an IDF soldier was killed. Two other IDF soldiers were also wounded in a shooting attack on a military vehicle. Some of the weapons were transferred to wanted fugitives in the Gaza area, were they were used in shooting attacks.

In 1993, Abu Marzook transferred, through the same emissary who came from the United States, an additional $300,000 to finance HAMAS' military activities in the territories. His activity to establish an organizational and operational infrastructure for HAMAS, his responsibility for transferring funds that were used, among other things, to purchase weapons for attacking Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and the directives which he sent to HAMAS activists are evidence of his intention that they carry out murders, cause grievous bodily harm, and inflict injuries with malicious intent, towards Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers.