Israel Goes to U.S. Court to Seek Extradition of Hamas Leader

The Israeli government will go to court today seeking the extradition of Mousa abu Marzuk, the political leader of the militant Islamic group Hamas, his lawyer and Clinton Administration officials said Monday.

Stanley L. Cohen, the Manhattan lawyer who represents Abu Marzuk, said that he was told of Israel’s decision by officials of the U.S. Justice Department and that he was not surprised by the action.

Abu Marzuk, a Palestinian who has lived in northern Virginia for several years, was stopped July 25 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport as he was trying to re-enter the country after spending five months in the United Arab Emirates.

In court papers, the Immigration and Naturalization Service charged that he appears to have participated in terrorist activities and should be deported. Israel issued a warrant for Abu Marzuk’s arrest last week, accusing him of conspiracy to commit murder.

Since he was detained at the airport, Abu Marzuk has been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center here, where a hearing on his status was interrupted last week when Cohen offered a plan to the Administration under which his client would withdraw his application to enter the country.

Under the plan, Abu Marzuk would surrender his green card and never seek to enter the United States again. But he insisted on the right to return to any nation he chooses.

His lawyer denied that Abu Marzuk had engaged in any terrorist acts and stressed that he had merely served as chairman of the political wing of the organization.

Cohen said that it is his understanding that the Justice Department is investigating his client’s financial history and banking transactions.

He said that the money in Abu Marzuk’s accounts was intended for social service agencies. Israeli officials claimed, however, that they have information implicating the Hamas leader in fund raising for the group and in arranging training for group members who have committed violence, including murder.

Goldman reported from New York and Ostrow from Washington.

--- UNPUBLISHED NOTE ---

In some 1997 stories, and stories from 2001 onward, Mousa abu Marzuk is referred to as Mousa abu Marzook.

--- END NOTE ---