Sami Abu Zuhri
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Sami Abu Zuhri a senior Palestinian spokesman for Hamas was catapulted to notoriety 19 May 2006 when European monitors discovered he had about 900,000 euros concealed in his clothing at a routine border crossing from Egypt to Gaza. 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. 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.
[edit] References
- [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
- Zuhri Interview with Sami Abu Zuhri, 30 September 2005
- CNN News, "Hamas official caught at border with more than $1 million" 19 May 2006
- ABC News: "Hamas Official Caught Smuggling $817,000"
