Sami Abu Zuhri

Sami Abu Zuhri (سامي أبو زهري) is a senior spokesman for the Palestinian political party Hamas. Zuhri a relatively unknown member of Hamas gained notoriety on May 19, 2006, when Palestinian security and customs officials discovered he had Euro 640,000 on his person, another report claimed he held a larger sum of 900,000 euros, and confiscated it, after Zuhri droped a concealed money belt at a routine border crossing from Egypt to Gaza. [ [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3252756,00.html Ynet] 19 May 2006 "Hamas spokesman caught smuggling cash" by Ali Waked] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4996990.stm BBC] 19 May 2006 "President orders Hamas cash probe"] The news brought competing Hamas and Fatah paramilitary forces to the crossing checkpoint, which Zuhri refused to leave without the banknotes, which had been confiscated as contraband. Abu Zuhri told a reporter from the Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera that the money had been donated privately by individuals he met during a tour of Arab nations.

The European monitors, who took up the station when Israel pulled out of Gaza, are charged with checking for contraband, which sometimes includes weapons and food. Julio De La Guardia, a spokesman for the European Union contingent that monitors the passage, said travelers crossing through Rafah must declare all sums over $2,000.

References

External links

* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/14/AR2008091400328.html Washington Post] 14 September 2008 "Abbas aims to stay in office to 2010 despite Hamas" Reuters article
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1580339/Israeli-minister-vows-Palestinian-%27holocaust%27.html Daily Telegraph] "Israeli minister vows Palestinian "holocaust" By Tim Butcher
* [http://uk.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUKL1585112620080515 Reuters] 15 May 2008 "Bush hails Israel's "chosen people" as Arabs lament"
* [http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/news2004/2004_06/174.html Hamas spokesman Abu Zuhri quoted] 28 June 2004
* [http://israelreporter.com/2005/09/30/wnd-exclusive-interview-with-senior-hamas-spokesman-sami-abu/Abu Zuhri Interview with Sami Abu Zuhri] , 30 September 2005
* [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/05/19/hamas.border/index.html CNN News] , "Hamas official caught at border with more than $1 million" 19 May 2006
* [http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1980595 ABC News] : "Hamas Official Caught Smuggling $817,000"
* [http://www.imemc.org/article/54493 IMEMC] "Abu Zuhri calls on Abbas to declare the failure of peace talks" 26 April, 2008
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/976429.html Ha'aretz] 20 April 2008 "Report: Hamas rejects Egyptian plan for truce with Israel"
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1202742145654&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Jpost] "Hizbullah's terror chief killed in Damascus bombing" By Yaakov Katz
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080401933.html Washington Post] 5 August 2008 "Gazans' Access To Care Faulted Israeli Interrogation Criticized in Report" By Linda Gradstein