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Muhammad Sawalha, a Senior Hamas Operative Living in Britain, Recently Participated in a Hamas Delegation to Russia

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Muhammad Sawalha, a Senior Hamas Operative Living in Britain, Recently Participated in a Hamas Delegation to Russia רמה כ ז מל ו תשר מה ו ד י ע י ן ( למ מ" ) רמה כרמ כ ז ז מל מה ו י תשר עד מל מה ו ד ו י ד ע י י ע ן י ן ו ל ( רט למ ו מ" ר ) כרמ ז מה י עד מל ו ד י ע י ן ול רט ו ר Muhammad Sawalha, a senior Hamas operative living in Britain, recently participated in a Hamas delegation to Russia. In an attempt to conceal the presence of a Britain-based senior operative, Hamas did not report his participation. July 25, 2019 Overview On July 15, 2019, a Hamas delegation headed by Musa Abu Marzouq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, visited Russia. The delegation met with Mikhail Bogdanov, deputy Russian foreign minister and the Russian presidential representative for the Middle East and Africa. Also a member of the delegation was Muhammad Sawalha, a senior Hamas operative who lives in London, where he collaborates with the Muslim Brotherhood (Britain is the European center of their activities). Hamas tries to conceal or at least downplay Muhammad Sawalha's activities to keep the British authorities from making life difficult for him. So far Britain has not taken effective steps to prevent Muhammad Sawalha from functioning as a Hamas operative. Muhammad Sawalha, senior Britain-based Hamas operative (al-Hiwar YouTube channel, April 23, 2019) The Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar reported that the official Hamas delegation that recently visited Russia included Muhammad Kazem Sawalha, a member of Hamas' political bureau and its ministry of international relations (al-Akhbar, July 16, 2019). His participation was downplayed by Hamas. His name was not mentioned in Hamas' formal reports about the visit and he was not clearly visible in pictures of the meetings. However, his presence in Russia was revealed during the visit (July 16, 2019) when the Musa Abu Marzouq and Muhammad Sawalha met with the Russian Council of Muftis. The meeting 172-19 2 was held in a mosque in Moscow and Muhammad Sawalha is clearly visible in the photographs published by the Russian Council of Muftis (Russian Council of Muftis' website, July 16, 2019). Muhammad Muhammad Sawalha Sawalha Muhammad Sawalha and Musa Abu Marzouq meet with the Russian Council of Muftis (Russian Council of Muftis' website, July 16, 2019). On September 19, 2017, a previous Hamas delegation to Russia headed by Musa Abu Marzouq and Saleh al-'Arouri also included Muhammad Sawalha, but at that time no effort was made by Hamas to conceal his participation.1 His visit was reported in the media, leading the British authorities to take an interest in him (see below). In ITIC assessment, that is why this time Hamas did not expose his participation in the current delegation. Moreover, having learned the lesson of the previous visit to Russia, Sawalha he kept a low profile when he joined other Hamas operatives at the pro-Hamas political convention in Istanbul (January 9, 2019). The convention was held to examine the legal issues resulting from the Palestinian Authority's disbandment of the Palestinian Legislative Council, which Hamas strongly opposed.2 1 For further information about the previous Hamas delegation to Russia, see the October 19, 2017 bulletin, "One of the members of a recent Hamas delegation to Russia was Muhammad Sawalha, a London-based Hamas operative engaged in extensive anti-Israel activities." 2 For further information, see the January 24, 2019 bulletin, "Muhammad Sawalha, senior Hamas operative living in London, continues participating in Hamas-supported political activities." 172-19 3 Muhammad Sawalha (next to Musa Abu Marzouq) during the previous visit of a Hamas political bureau delegation to Moscow, meeting with Mikhail Bogdanov, the deputy Russian foreign minister (al-Ghad YouTube channel, September 19, 2017). Muhammad Sawalha's Activity in Britain – Overview Muhammad Kazem Sawalha is a senior Hamas operative based in London who has held military and political positions in Hamas. At the end of the nineteen eighties he was a senior operative in Hamas' military infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. After the infrastructure was exposed by the Israeli security forces Sawalha was put on Israel's wanted list. He fled to Jordan with forged identity papers (October 1990) and from there to Britain. Since then, he has lived in Britain and continues to operate in the ranks of Hamas. Muhammad Sawalha operates in Britain in several areas: in practical terms, he continues his involvement in Hamas activity and carries out political missions (Moscow, Istanbul.). In the battle for hearts and minds in Britain, he is involved in spreading the radical Islamic doctrines of the Muslim Brotherhood to the Muslim community in Britain. In anti-Israeli activities, he has been involved in the flotillas to the Gaza Strip, in spreading propaganda denying the right of the State of Israel to exist, supporting the BDS campaign and lawfare against Israel. In the past he was involved in the transfer of funds from the United States to Hamas operatives in Judea and Samaria (see Appendix). 172-19 4 So far the British authorities have not taken effective preventive measures to put an end to Muhammad Sawalha's activities for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Following the public exposure of his visit to Russia (2017), and in view of the fact that he was a member of the board of trustees of the Finsbury Park Mosque,3 an inquiry into his activities was held by the British Charity Commission. However, it found he had committed no offense because Hamas is not designated as a terrorist group in Britain; only the activities of its military wing are banned, not the entire organization.4 In the wake of the British Charity Commission inquiry, Sawalha resigned from the mosque's board of trustees "...due to his intensive work engagements" (The Times, January 11, 2019). (The inquiry apparently also caused him to lower the profile of his public activities in other Muslim Brotherhood institutions.) However, his activity in the ranks of Hamas continues, as illustrated by his recent visit to Moscow. Concealing Ties to Hamas and Keeping a Low Media Profile While in London Muhammad Sawalha is careful not to publicly admit he is a member of Hamas, and certainly not the fact that he is a senior Hamas operative. Hamas also avoids mentioning his position in its ranks. For example, in the formal announcement issued about the visit of the Hamas delegation to Moscow, Hamas spokesman abroad Husam Badran reported that the delegation headed by Musa Abu Marzouq had arrived but did not give the names of the delegates. In addition, in information about the Hamas delegation's meeting with Mikhail Bogdanov only Musa Abu Marzouq was mentioned. In pictures of the meeting on 3 The Finsbury Part Mosque in northern London was, in the 1990s, notorious because of its imam, Abu Hamza al-Masri (an al-Qaeda supporter who was deported to the United States and is currently serving a life term in an American prison). After Muslim jihadist extremists took control of the mosque its board of trustees was disbanded and replaced by a new board of members from organizations affiliated with the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in Britain. From 2010 Muhammad Sawalha was one of the mosque's six trustees until he resigned following the British Charity Commission investigation. 4 Calling Muhammad Sawalha a political activist is incorrect, since Hamas "political" figures often carry out military activities, while military operatives carry out "political" activities. Until the end of the 1980s Muhammad Sawalha was a senior Hamas operative in Judea and Samaria and involved in establishing Hamas' headquarters. He instructed regional Hamas commanders to set up military networks and became wanted by the Israeli security forces. He fled to Jordan (October 1990) using forged documents and from Jordan went to Britain, where he still lives. At the beginning of the 1990s he used to travel back and forth between the United States, Britain, Israel, Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip to transfer funds from the United States, meant for the support of Hamas' terrorist activities. For that reason Sawalha was indicted by the United States (for further information see the October 19, 2017 bulletin). 172-19 5 the Hamas website Muhammad Sawalha is sitting with his back to the camera (Hamas website, July 15 and 16, 2019). His participation in the delegation was exposed by pictures in a Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper and on the website of the Russian Council of Muftis. Hamas delegation, headed by Musa Abu Marzouq, meets in Moscow with Mikhail Bogdanov, the deputy Russian foreign minister. Muhammad Sawalha is second from left with his back to the camera (headquarters, July 16, 2019). Only the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar published a report mentioning that Muhammad Kazem Sawalha was a member of the Hamas delegation to Russia (al- Akhbar, July 16, 2019). Other media that reported his presence were quoting the item in al- Akhbar. It is possible that the correspondent who wrote the report in a Hezbollah- affiliated newspaper was not aware of the sensitivity of reporting Muhammad Sawalha's name and role. Al-Akhbar reports Muhammad Sawalha is a member of Hamas' political bureau and as visiting Moscow with Musa Abu Marzouq (al-Akhbar, Lebanon, July 16, 2019). The names of the members of Hamas' political bureau appear on its website, but the name and picture of Muhammad Sawalha are lacking (Hamas website, July 24, 2019). 172-19 6 Pictures of the Hamas political bureau on its website (Hamas website, July 24, 2019). Muhammad Sawalha's name and picture do not appear, in ITIC assessment to keep him from encountering difficulties in operating in Britain.
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