LONDON: British Muslims reacted angrily on Wednesday after the state charity commission froze the accounts of a Palestinian charity over alleged links to Hamas.

The action came after President George Bush announced on Friday that the US would block the bank account of the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund, or Interpal, which has its headquarters in Britain.

At the end of last week, the US and Israel urged Britain to take action against Interpal.

Ibrahim Hewitt, the chairman of trustees of Interpal, said: “This is happening because America says so, because Israel says so. The Israelis want to starve the Palestinians of what little we are able to give them and to make them even more disheartened.”

However, the charity commission denied its action was linked to US or Israeli pressure.

A spokeswoman said: “We received concerns at the end of March and opened an initial evaluation in April.

“We have now opened a formal investigation. This action follows concerns received alleging the charity’s links to Hamas’s political or militant activities.”

The charity can still transfer funds to Palestine, where money is channelled to schools, hospitals and bereaved families, but must ask permission from the charity commission.

Interpal’s accounts were previously frozen in 1996 after Israel accused the charity of helping Hamas, but after a two- month inquiry by the charity commission it was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Investigators may be concerned because although Hamas is best-known in the west for its suicide bomb attacks, it draws support from a religious and charitable network in the Palestinian territories and may have become involved in the distribution of charity money.

Mr Hewitt said: “Hamas is an ideology as much as an organisation. We deal with people whether they are Hamas or whether they are Fatah.

“Palestinian society is riven by factions but we don’t look at that, we look at it on the basis of need.”

The Muslim Council of Britain has sent a letter of protest to the foreign secretary, Jack Straw.—Dawn/ The Guardian News Service.