Israel says it has arrested a Palestinian employee of the United Nations in Gaza, accusing him of using his position to assist the Islamic militant Hamas group, which rules the coastal territory.
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Israel last week charged Mohammed El-Halabi, director of the Gaza branch of worldwide Christian charity World Vision, with funding Hamas with up to $7.2 million a year over more than five years.
“This investigation proves yet again the way in which Hamas exploits aid resources of worldwide groups in the Gaza Strip which are meant for the civilian population”, the Shin Bet said, adding Bursh had been indicted in an Israeli court. But Bursh’s relatives in Gaza insisted he was not involved with Hamas.
Hamas denied allegations in a statement, calling the claims “baseless” and said they are being used “to justify the continued siege on Gaza”.
According to the charity, El Halabi was last week charged with “providing support” to the fundamentalist political organisation.
Israeli security agency Shin Bet said Waheed Borsh, 38, was indicted on Tuesday. Active in Hamas for years, Boresh said under interrogation that he was instructed by Hamas to concentrate on his UNDP job in order to provide services for Hamas.
But the figures have been questioned by World Vision, which says it has launched a full review, including an external forensic audit.
Israel has long warned that well-intentioned Western aid to Gaza was ending up in the hands of terrorists and the government has held up both arrests as proof of “how Hamas exploits the resources of global aid organisations at the expense of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip”. “We expect the United Nations, and especially the UNDP, to condemn unconditionally the activities of their employee, who took advantage of global aid, diverting it from the truly needy to the coffers of Hamas terrorists”.
Reacting on Twitter, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nahshon described UNDP as the “latest victim of Hamas”, adding that worldwide aid money, “sorely needed by the Gaza population”, had been “stolen for terror purposes”.
The enclave’s 1.8 million residents are ruled by Hamas, which the United States, the European Union and Israel regard as a terrorist organization.
If this is true, it is news, because World Vision has not reported this information to the general public, with good reason.
“World Vision was shocked to learn of these charges against Mohammad”, the statement said.
Piper said it was important Halabi received a fair trial, with his lawyer telling AFP Friday that he had initially been held without access to a lawyer for several weeks. She said World Vision has stopped its Gaza operations while investigations continue.
Israel welcomed the decision and said it has passed on details of the case to a number of countries from where money is being sent to Gaza.
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“World Vision’s cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past ten years was approximately $22.5 million, which makes the alleged amount of up to $50 million being diverted [to Hamas] hard to reconcile”, World Vision President Kevin Jenkins said in a statement.
