Report: Ra'am Flagship Charity Funded and Collaborated with Hamas Entities

A HaKol HaYehudi investigation reveals that the “Support 48” charity, which is the flagship charity of the Ra`am party, transferred large sums of money over multiple years to a Turkish group associated with Hamas. 

Leaders of “Support 48,” who are close with Ra'am party head Mansour Abbas also collaborated with Hamas activists, including one who attempted an attack at a secure facility belonging to the military contractor Elbit.

This latest revelation follows charges filed yesterday against Rami Habiballah, a teacher from Ein Mahel in the Galilee, for supporting Hamas. Specifically, Habiballah is alleged to have transferred large sums of money to a Turkish association "Hir Ummah” over multiple years. Furthermore, since the beginning of the war, Habiballah established contact with Hamas operatives Abed Al-Jabar Shalabi and Ibrahim Al-Najji and informed them of location of an Elbit facility near Nof Hagalil in the hope that Hamas could fire a missile at the facility.

According to the indictment, Ibrahim Al-Najji, a Hamas activist and employee of the "Hir Ummah" nonprofit, provided information to other Hamas members and eventually informed Habiballah that Hamas was unable to attack the facility. Habiballah then suggested “taking the initiative himself” and carrying out an attack on the Elbit facility. He recruited additional Arabs from Ein Mahel to help him obtain weapons and also developed a plan to carry out a shooting attack in Jerusalem.

Habiballah’s arrest ended the plans, and he is accused of multiple security offenses, including terrorism and contact with a foreign enemy agent.

HaKol HaYehudi’s investigation further reveals that the "Hir Ummah" nonprofit, described in the indictment as being affiliated with Hamas, is also a beneficiary of the “Support 48" charity, which also calls itself “The Islamic association for orphans and needy individuals.” Support 48 is the flagship charity of the Ra'am political party led by Mansour Abbas.

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“Support 48" transferred large sums of money, hundreds of thousands of shekels, over the years to Hir Ummah, and leaders of Support 48 maintained contact with the Hamas activists leading Hir Ummah. Journalist Avishai Grinzaig revealed that in 2021 alone, “Support 48" transferred nearly NIS 400,000 to the Hamas-affiliated “Hir Ummah" association.

Likewise, in 2017, “Support 48" sent a delegation to Turkey to distribute equipment in cooperation with Hamas activists from Hir Ummah. The Support 48 delegation was led by Na'al Issa, today the head of the Foreign Relations Department of Support 48 and the son-in-law of Abdallah Nimr Darwish, the founder of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Ali Katani, chairman of Support 48, also participated in the delegation. Both of them are also known to be close to Mansour Abbas and are senior members of the Southern Branch of the Islamic movement. They have also both been involved in other collaborations between Support 48 and  Hir Ummah.

Support 48 also sponsored the "Jerusalem Camp" held in Turkey for the children of Syrian refugees. Na'al Issa himself participated in the camp and his wife was the manager of a staff that included representatives from both Support 48 and the Hamas-affiliated Hir Ummah.

In another joint event, at the Iftar meal sponsored by Support 48 in Turkey, Na'al Issa can be seen sitting with Hamas activist Abed Al-Jabal Shalabi who is the director of "Hir Ummah".

Other members of Support 48 appear in images from the event, including Nimr Abu Luz.
This evidence demonstrates that Support 48 and its members may have committed criminal offense through their actions, including violating bans on providing support for terror and having contact with an enemy agent. 

These latest revelations follow other findings  published both by HaKol HaYehudi and by organizations such as Ad Kan and the Choosing Life Forum about the deep connections between Hamas and the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement (to which the Ra`am party belongs).

A central finding which was made even more significant after the Oct. 7th massacre is the reported opening of a “Support 48" branch in Gaza attended by senior leaders of the nonprofit, including Ali Katnani and Razie Issa, who stood alongside senior Hamas member Razi Hamad. When journalist Ayelet Hasson published the finding based on information from the Ad Kan organization, many tried to downplay Hamad’s involvement in terror. However, after the October 7th attack, Hamad’s support for terror became clear as in an interview he promised that Hamas would carry out more “October 7th”s again and again.

Support 48 stated in response to the report, "Apparently, the media has decided to overrule the Ministry of Defense and label organizations as illegal on its own. As far as we know, and according to our information, "Hir Ummah" is not labeled as a terror organization by the Ministry of Defense. All of our transfers were made in accordance with the law and with the approval of the banks and government authorities. Our charity has acted and continues to act solely to support the needy in accordance with the law. The media continues to persecute the Ra'am party and those associated with it for political gain.”