Former House majority leader subpoenaed in terrorism financing case News
Former House majority leader subpoenaed in terrorism financing case

[JURIST] Former US House Majority leader Eric Cantor has been subpoenaed [text] in a terrorism financing case against Bank of China, media reported Tuesday. Cantor was subpoenaed [New York Observer report] by the Israel Law Center [advocacy website] based on his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [BBC profile] discussing why former senior Mossad official Uzi Shaya was kept from testifying against the Bank of China. The subpoena, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website], lists Rivka Martha Moriah on behalf of a putative class as the plaintiffs and the Bank of China as the defendant. The Bank of China is accused of funding terrorist attacks by the Islamic Jihad and Hamas within the Israel region. Nitsana Darshan Leitner, founder of the Israel Law Center, stated in regards to Cantor’s subpoena, “[c]antor’s cousin Daniel Cantor Wultz was killed in a 2005 suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and his family are plaintiffs along with 22 other families. We allege that Netanyahu told Cantor that the Chinese are placing extreme pressure on Israel not to allow the agent to testify.” Cantor is to appear for his testimony in New York City on September 30.

Both Hamas and Israel have been accused of perpetrating war crimes and harming civilians during the ongoing conflict. The Shurat HaDin [advocacy website] of the Israel Law Center announced earlier this month that they have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor [official websites] to open an investigation on Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal [JURIST report] for alleged war crimes, including summary executions. In July Palestinian officials filed a complaint of their own with the ICC [JURIST report] accusing Israel of war crimes, including apartheid, attacks against civilians, excessive loss of human life and colonization. In March an Egyptian court ruled that Hamas is a terrorist organization [JURIST report] and banned all activities by the group in Egypt.

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