(c) An article published on the Makor Rishon website (date not specified) in which it was stated that the organization had begun operating a new course for tour guides on the Temple Mount, and for this purpose it hired the services of Gilad, who was convicted of working for Hamas and his family is also connected to terrorist activity. I will refer to this article later, as part of a discussion in "Red Flag" that attributes to the association the connection and employment of elements involved in incitement and terrorism.
- Interim summary: The three addresses from that day, which reported that an investigation had been opened following a complaint by right-wing organizations, were published more than two years ago, and as of the date of the decision, no open investigation had been opened about them. It was determined that the fact that the organization had received donations from foreign organizations in the past (mainly until 2015, and slightly in 2019) does not raise significant "red flags" that indicate concern about involvement in terrorism today. The association's claim that since 2019 it has not received donations from abroad and that all of its activity in Israel has not been contradicted.
- Connection between the association and the Islamic Association for Orphans and the Needy (Association 48): The bank claimed to have learned from publications that the association maintained ties with the 48 association: It was reported that "this is a single mechanism with a clear hierarchy" (an article on the Globes website whose date was not specified, Appendix C to the bank's original response to the request for temporary relief). It was also claimed that the former CEO of the 48 Association, Razi Issa, was also the CEO of Dana until 2016. The Bank referred to the decision regarding the Islamic Association for Orphans and the Needy mentioned above, in which the 48 Association's request for temporary relief ordering it to continue operating after its activities were suspended following "red flags" that allegedly indicate activity that supports terrorism and money laundering. The red flags in the case of 48 included: the transfer of about ILS 50 million in 2023 to the Palestinian Authority, Gaza and Turkey, through external associations; Publications of the 48 Association for Raising Funds for Refugee Camps in Syria and Yemen were presented; Photographs of her ties with Hamas-affiliated elements were shown; The bank's inability to monitor the use of the money has been proven; and a declarative (recorded) reference by the association (in 2016) to Sheikh Yassin as a "martyr", which reflected the position of the head of the association at the time.
The association, for its part, claimed that there was no real connection between it and the 48 association: there was no financial accounting between the two; the fact that until 2016 the person who was the director of the association (at the time) headed the 48 association does not indicate illegal activity. The association confirmed that it distributes equipment to the needy (such as backpacks, heating devices, and medical equipment) purchased by the 48 association in Jerusalem, but stressed that it does not receive financial assistance from it.
- In the decision on the temporary relief, it was determined that there was no real concern about the connection between the two associations. There is room to distinguish between the two cases: while in the case of NGO 48 it was proven that it supports entities in Gaza, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, and the Palestinian Authority, including a concrete NGO linked to Hamas, in the case of NGO 48, no such evidence was presented. The association operated only within Israel, did not raise funds from abroad since 2019, and did not have an account with the 48 association. The fact that it distributed equipment originating from Association 48, and the fact that the director of Association 48 was formerly the director of the association, have only prima facie limited evidentiary weight.
- The association's involvement with terrorist operatives: The bank claimed that as part of the organization's activities, elements supporting terrorism or terrorist operatives were involved, as follows: The association led a training course on the Temple Mount called "Ain al-Buraq," one of whose most prominent instructors was Najah Bikrat, who was defined by the security forces as a Hamas operative. The same course was instructed by Mufti Akrima Sabri, who according to reports, was indicted for incitement. It was also claimed that the association hired the services of Gilad, who had been convicted of terrorist activity in the past.
The association, for its part, claimed that Bikrat and Sabri were representatives of the Waqf, and that they delivered congratulatory speeches on its behalf at the opening event of a course for training tour guides on the Temple Mount and the Old City, which took place in 2021. They did not serve as instructors in the course, did not receive a salary from the association, and the association has not had contact with them since 2021. The reports regarding the suspicions against them are from June 2023 and February 2024, years after they participated in the aforementioned opening ceremony. The course program was attached as Appendix 16 to the amended request for temporary relief, and it appears that none of the aforementioned was an instructor in it (the association even claims that Bibrarat's arrival was not coordinated with it, and that another representative was supposed to arrive). See note 1 in the amended application).