A former U.S. diplomat came to the defense of a charity accused of Palestinian terrorist ties, saying Israel may have provided tainted intelligence.
Edward Abington, who served as U.S. consul general in Jerusalem between 1993 and 1999, appeared Tuesday at the Dallas trial of Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a Muslim charity with alleged links to Hamas.
Abington said CIA reports he had read suggested no such links, and that Israel may have provided unreliable intelligence to U.S. counterparts in order to press an anti-Hamas campaign.
“I feel the Israelis have an agenda,” The Associated Press quoted Abington as saying in court, adding later that “they provide selective information to try to influence U.S. thinking.”
Since retiring from the State Department, Abington has worked as a pro-Palestinian lobbyist in Washington.
Israel sent a government lawyer to testify, on camera, at the Holy Land trial.
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