Death – Obituary – Accident and Crime News : Financial services company Stripe has resumed processing payments for a fundraiser benefiting an Israeli-designated terror group after conducting an internal investigation. Emails obtained by the Washington Examiner confirm that Stripe temporarily paused working with the Spanish Bizilur Association for Cooperation and Development of Peoples for its “#StopGazaStarvation Gaza Relief Campaign” with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC). Israel identified UAWC in 2021 as an “arm” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a U.S.-designated terror faction.
Although PayPal quietly cut ties with the initiative last week after concerns were raised about potential violations of federal law, Stripe began allowing its platform to be used again for the Gaza fundraiser on Tuesday. This move has drawn criticism from pro-Israel organizations like the Zachor Legal Institute think tank, which believes that Stripe has not thoroughly reviewed applicable laws and the nature of the campaign. They argue that Stripe’s provision of services to the campaign organizers, even after being informed of their terror affiliations, constitutes aiding and abetting of foreign terror under U.S. anti-terror laws.
The decision by Stripe not to take action against Bizilur’s fundraiser comes after the pro-Palestinian initiative instructed the public that Stripe was unavailable due to technical issues. However, the campaign organizers have stated that donations will be sent directly to Palestine, where UAWC operates a network of local peasant committees in both Gaza and the West Bank.
It is worth noting that other major payment processors, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, prohibited UAWC from using their services in 2018 due to its ties to the PFLP. UAWC has also been identified as a PFLP “affiliate” by the Palestinian Fatah organization.
The resumption of Stripe’s processing services for the Gaza fundraiser has raised concerns among lawmakers. Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) stated that the misuse of payment processing technology to finance terror groups is unsustainable, and Congress is closely monitoring the situation.
Stripe has not provided comment on the matter, and neither UAWC nor Bizilur have responded to requests for comment.