U.S. seizes $1.4 million in alleged Hamas cash, property

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The federal government Tuesday seized an estimated $1.4 million in cash and property that it says was intended to be used to support Hamas terrorist activities.

The Justice Department said the assets were seized from a couple and an Islamic literacy organization, both in suburban Chicago.

The government filed a civil forfeiture complaint in federal court in Chicago against the house and other assets of Mohammad and Azita Salah of Bridgeview and the Quranic Literacy Institute in Oak Lawn.

The complaint alleges that Salah has financed Hamas terrorist activities in the Middle East, including the purchase of weapons that were used in attacks against Israel, such as the murder of Israeli soldiers.

Officials say the seizure is designed to stop the flow of money from the United States to support terrorist activity abroad, but they do not claim any terrorist activity in the United States was involved.

Justice Department officials say the assets seized were designed to facilitate recruitment, training and military operations of Hamas in the Middle East. The funds were to be used for extortion, kidnapping and murder of Israelis, with the objective of undermining the Middle East peace process, officials said.

Salah, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested in Israel in 1993 and pleaded guilty in 1995 to supporting Hamas. After serving his sentence, he returned to the United States last November.