Palestinian woman slated for deportation from Canada after working for Hamas-related group

Canada's immigration tribunal wants to deport a Palestinian woman who was working with a Mississauga, Ont. relief group with links to Hamas. Majeda Sarassra was an employee of the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (IRFAN) Canada, Globals News reports.

The Immigration Appeal Division decided her employment made her a "member" of IRFAN-Canada, deemed a terrorist group. The decision is under appeal at the Federal Court.

Canadian authorities ruled in 2011 that IRFAN-Canada was not a legitimate charity because it had provided $14.6 million to organizations "associated with Hamas." The Canada Revenue Agency seized videos from the group that were described as praising "martyrdom" and portraying the Palestinian conflict with Israel as a war of religion. 

The Government of Canada put IRFAN-Canada on its terrorist list in 2014 and said it has used its "status as a charitable organization to fund Hamas." Sarassra came to Canada from Venezuela in 2016 and claimed to be a refugee. She had worked for IRFAN-Canada at its Bethlehem, Israel office.

In that role, she dispensed funds to orphans but Immigration Canada said she was an "important part of IRFAN-Canada operations in Palestine" and therefore a participant in a terrorist organization. Sarassra says she was unaware that IRFAN-Canada had been blacklisted, only learning of it when she arrived in Canada.

The Immigration and Refugee Board at first sided with Sarassra and against the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). But after an appeal, a second review decided she had been a "member of IRFAN-Canada by virtue of her employment with the organization."

"She held a position of trust given her responsibility of the distribution of money," the ruling stated, adding that to achieve its objectives, Hamas needed."funding and support from sympathizers and charities around the world."

"Most of the funding for Hamas comes from outside of Palestinian territories, largely from global charities," the ruling said. "The evidence shows links between IRFAN Canada and Hamas." 

Sarassra contends that her working with IRFAN-Canada was only "low-level involvement" and she has told the CBSA that Sarassra's appeal to the Federal Court argues that she had only "low-level involvement" in IRFAN-Canada for one year until 2014.

"This is a terror organization, whose objective is not only the destruction of the state of Israel but also despotic control over the Palestinian civilians," she said of Islamic Jihad.

She also told the CBSA that she believes Hamas is a terrorist organization.