The trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), a charity long suspected of supporting terrorists by funneling money to Hamas and its officials, ended in a mistrial after a federal jury in Dallas, Texas, failed to come to a unanimous decision on most counts. 

Federal prosecutors have indicated that they will retry the case, but as of November 2007, no formal decision has been announced. 

Considered to be the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. when it was active, HLF was part of an organizational structure that was set up by the radical Muslim Brotherhood to support the Hamas terrorist organization, according to public records, including documents released by the government.

HLF was shut down and its assets frozen by the government in December 2001 after it was designated to be a charity that provided material and logistical support to Hamas under Executive Orders 13224 and 12947.  Shukri Abu Baker, the charity's chief executive, denied any connection to Hamas and HLF filed a lawsuit against the government challenging the freezing of its assets.

In August 2002, a U.S. district court judge, Gladys Kessler, rejected HLF's arguments, saying that the government had a strong case against the charity, and "there is evidence that HLF raised funds for Hamas, that Hamas provided financial support to HLF, and that HLF paid for Hamas leaders to travel to the United States on fund-raising trips." HLF appealed to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear its case.   

The U.S. Justice Department obtained an indictment against HLF in 2004, accusing the charity and its top leaders of a conspiracy to provide aid to a terrorist organization, charging that HLF provided more than $12 million to individuals and organizations linked to Hamas between 1995 and 2001. The group raised a total of $57 million since its incorporation in 1992, but only reported $36.2 million to the IRS, according to the indictment.

HLF operated as a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity organization. It was founded in 1987 in Los Angeles, California, as the Occupied Land Fund (OLF) by its President and CEO, Shukri A. Baker. In 1991, it changed its name to HLF, and it moved to Richardson, Texas in 1993.

During the trial, several Muslim organizations joined together with an anti-war group and other organizations to form a coalition in support of HLF. The coalition, dubbed "Hungry for Justice," includes the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the ANSWER Coalition.