Arab Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East, is on trial in New York accused of providing financial help to the Palestinian militant Islamist group Hamas.

This is a landmark case, the first of its kind in the United States.

CCTV America’s Shraysi Tandon reports. 

Nearly 300 plaintiffs claim Arab Bank knowingly provided financial services to the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. It’s a claim the defense denies saying payments to Hamas were made in error.

Arab Bank released a statement saying it provided routine financial services to Palestinian charities. The bank said, quote, “Arab Bank processed the Saudi Committee transfers with the understanding that they were intended to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Territories and not, as the lawsuits allege, to incentivize Palestinians to commit terrorist attacks.”