As for Jilad, the organization claimed that he was never employed by it, but rather participated voluntarily as a lecturer and instructor in a course it held for Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem. The association did not know about his conviction, and noted that it was an old conviction. She emphasized that he is a tour guide certified by the Ministry of Tourism, which she claims indicates that his activity does not involve a security risk.
- I determined that the weight that should be attributed to the plaintiff's relationship with elements involved in terrorism is limited. Bicherat and Sabri were not employees of the association and their relationship existed before the suspicions against them were published. Gilad's conviction is old. Therefore, it was determined that in order for such a connection to form a red flag, the bank must show that the association knew about their positions, that the connection was related to their involvement in terrorism, and that the connection was also related to the activity in the account; and that it must be shown that the association knew about the positions of these personalities, and that the connection with them was connected to their involvement in terrorism, was done against this background, and was also connected to the activity in the account (see, for example, Civil Case (Tel Aviv District) 62322-11-23 Gisha - Center for the Protection of the Right to Move v. Bank Leumi Le-Israel Ltd., para. 37 (December 11, 2023)).
- Publications that incite terrorism: The bank claimed that the organization had published content on its website that incited terrorism. Among the publications presented: a photograph of a man (apparently Jaber) standing on a wall holding a Hamas flag; a photograph showing a man (it is not clear if it is Jaber) standing on a stairs and apparently throwing an object (Appendix H to the corrected answer); and a 2015 publication by a senior Hamas figure named Ahmed Attoun ("Attoun") (Appendix 9 to the amended request) calling for the liberation of Jerusalem by "force" while calling for "sacrifice" for Jerusalem. According to the bank, these are "particularly bright" red flags.
The association replied that Jaber's publications were published years ago; They are not incitement to terrorism; Jaber never supported violence and no criminal case was ever opened against him; and his publications do not represent the association and are not on its behalf. Regarding the article published by Attoun, the association claimed that it was from 2015 and originated from an old and deleted website that was not in use, and that it did not justify blocking an account about nine years after it was published.
- I determined that the weight of these publications as a red flag indicating ties to terrorist organizations is not great and is certainly not a "bright red flag." Jaber's publications are old and are not attributed to the association, and it is not clear if they were published on its website. So is the publication of Old Aton. It was emphasized that there is no evidence or claim that the association actively published incitement against the State of Israel and that sporadic and old statements do not meet the requirements of the regulator (Gisha case, para. 33). Therefore, the publications did not find any real suspicion justifying the blocking of the association's account.
- Loss of trust by the bank in the association: The bank claimed as an alternative claim that it had completely lost confidence in the association, which is a necessary element of the bank-customer relationship, and therefore it should be allowed to stop providing service to it.
I determined that prima facie the chances that this argument will be accepted are small. Loss of trust usually requires deliberate concealment or particularly serious circumstances, as was the case in the Amuta 48 case, paragraph 35 or in the case of an opening incentive (Tel Aviv District) 30476-08-19 Dagan v. Union Bank of Israel in a tax appeal (February 15, 2022) where there was deliberate fraud that led to a partial blocking. In the current case, the circumstances of the full closure of the account appear to be less serious, the association responded to questions, and the bank did not indicate deliberate concealment or an attempt to circumvent restrictions. It seems that the association's problematic conduct is consistent with its declared manner of activity over the years.
- 00Interim Summary: In the decision on the temporary relief, a temporary injunction was issued instructing the bank to allow the association to operate in the account by way of bank transfers, standing orders and other identified payments, while prohibiting the deposit of funds in cash. In addition, the association was given permission to use the funds in the account.
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