JUNE 10, 1998 On Thursday, June 9, Federal officials seized $1.4 million in assets including cash, a car, the personal residence and other assets held by Mohammad Salah, his wife Azita, and the Quranic Literacy Institute, a Chicago-area Islamic organization.

• The FBI has alleged that Salah helped finance Hamas terrorist activities, including the purchase of weapons used in attacks against Israelis.

• In September 1989, Salah, of the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, was appointed by Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzuq to be responsible for Hamas’ Iz Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalions.

• The Iz Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalions is the military wing of Hamas that has carried out suicide bombings and other types of violent activities. In that capacity, Salah was sent by Abu Marzuq to the West Bank and Gaza to distribute funds and pass on directives to local Hamas activists.

• In January of 1993, Abu Marzuq provided Salah with $300,000 that was to be distributed among the leaders of Hamas’ Iz Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalions in the West Bank and Gaza. On his way out of Gaza, Israeli security forces arrested him. Salah pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released in November 1997 and returned to the Chicago area.

• Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic terrorist organization whose aim is to establish an Islamic state to replace Israel. It has claimed responsibility for carrying out numerous suicide bombing attacks and other acts of violence against Israelis.

EDITORS NOTE: For materials on Hamas and to arrange interviews with ADL experts contact the ADL Media Relations Department at 212-885-7749.