Union of Good

The Union of Good (UG) (Arabic: ائتلاف خير‎‎, Itilaf al-Khayr or Ittilaf al-Kheir), also known as the Charity Coalition, is an umbrella organization consisting of over 50 Islamic charities and funds which funnel money to organizations belonging to Hamas, which currently rules the territory of the Gaza Strip. Hamas, which characterizes itself as an "Islamic resistance movement against Israeli occupation" is also on the US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

The Union of Good was founded in May 2001 and is based in Saudi Arabia. It was blocked by Israel from operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2002, then banned in 2008. The United States Treasury designates the Union of Good as supporting terrorism under Executive Order 13224 in November 2008. It was founded in May 2001 and is based in Saudi Arabia.

The Union is chaired by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, an Islamist cleric close to the Muslim Brotherhood. Immediately after the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, in October 2000, he established the Union of the Good with the involvement of the Hamas leadership to fund a "Campaign of 101 Days" with the purpose of aiding Palestinians in the PA-administered territories. Following its initial success, the Union of Good was institutionalized and has been active ever since.

The Union of Good is composed of individuals and foundations proven to be Hamas-affiliated as well as designated extremist and terrorist around the world. According to the information made available by a 2005 report published by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S), the Union has served as a contractor to transfer funds for Hamas institutions in the territories administered by the Palestinian Authority.

The report pointed out that the UG divided the territories in four administrative districts in order to maximize its efficiency in transferring funds. In three districts (“North West Bank,” “Center West Bank,” and “South West Bank”), UG established or consolidated its affiliation with a designated organization serving as coordinator for a number of Hamas institutions active locally. Al-Tadhamoun, based in Nablus, is the coordinating organization for UG in the Northern district, while Al-Islah, in Ramallah, runs Hamas’ activities in Central West Bank and Hebron’s Islamic Charity Society operates in the Southern district. In the fourth district, corresponding to the “Gaza Strip,” UG operated instead as an independent representative.

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