February 12, 2009: Terror victims holding an American federal court judgment against the Hamas organization have legally restrained more than $11 million belonging to the terrorist group.
On February 5, 2009, Egyptian officials stopped Hamas leader Ayman Taha at the Rafah border crossing  from entering into Gaza with suitcases containing millions of dollars in cash.

Although Taha insisted that he be allowed to bring the funds into Gaza, the Egyptians refused and required him to deposit the funds in the National Bank of Egypt's (NBE) branch in El Arish in Northern Sinai.

Attorneys for the terror victims immediately served a restraining order on the NBE's American branch located at 40 East 52nd Street in New York.  The restraining notice informed the NBE that the plaintiffs have an unsatisfied judgment which is owed to them by Hamas in the amount of $116 million and warned the NBE from paying out the deposited funds or permitting the withdrawal of the funds by Hamas.  

Moreover, it places the NBE on notice that although the bank might believe that being owned by the Egyptian government it enjoys "sovereign immunity" from garnishment proceedings, that pursuant to the Terror Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA), a law lobbied for by victims of Hamas terror attacks in Israel, no such immunity can be claimed against the enforcement of terror judgments in the United States.   As TRIA provides: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law . . . in every case in which a person has obtained a judgment against a terrorist party on a claim based upon an act of terrorism the blocked assets of that terrorist party shall be subject to execution or attachment in aid of execution in order to satisfy such judgment."  

According to Shurat HaDin director Attorney Nitsana Darshan Leitner: "Media reports that Egypt is keeping the Hamas money for itself are erroneous. The funds have now been restrained and cannot be moved by the Egyptian government or Hamas.  They will be paid to the terror victims. Shurat HaDin's earlier legal actions against banking institutions providing services to Gaza have been highly effective and Hamas is now being forced to smuggle money across the border in suitcases.  Every time Hamas funds are stopped anywhere the terror victims will immediately move on them."