Details of such investigations and confessions, often gathered after a lengthy period under interrogation and with no initial access to a lawyer, are nearly impossible to independently verify.
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According to the charity, El Halabi was last week charged with “providing support” to the fundamentalist political organisation.
Aid workers privately admit to pressure from Hamas.
More than two thirds of the population of the Gaza Strip, which Israel has blockaded for a decade, are reliant on some form of aid, according to the United Nations. A spokesman for Hamas in Gaza, Hazem Qasem, has called the allegations “lies”.
The indictment accused UN Development Programme (UNDP) staffer Borsh of abusing his position to renovate Hamas members’ homes, having been recruited by “a senior member of the Hamas terrorist organisation to redirect his work for UNDP to serve Hamas’ military interests”.
Israel said Waheed Borsh admitted to several charges including building a jetty with United Nations funds that was later used by Hamas’s navy.
No figures were provided on how much aid Borsh allegedly diverted and the charge sheet provided by the justice ministry did not say he joined Hamas.
Through his work as an engineer, Borsh allegedly directed the UNDP to work on projects that would benefit Hamas.
In recent days, Israeli officials alleged misuse of funds by other aid agencies in Gaza and signaled that the investigation into Mr. Halabi would uncover other Hamas operatives.
He was arrested on July 16 by Israel’s police and its internal security agency, the Shin Bet.
The global charity World Vision said on Monday that Israel has accused the charity’s Gaza Strip director of funneling what appears to be an impossible sum of money to Hamas.
“The rubble removal project was established to respond to the consequences of the 2014 hostilities in Gaza”. Estimates are that one tunnel can cost a million dollars to build and uses around 50,000 tons of concrete.
Hamas has denied the allegations.
World Vision added that al-Halabi has worked with the group for 10 years, and that they have “no reason to believe” the allegations against their employee are true.
On Thursday, World Vision official Mohammad El Halabi faced court in Beersheba over charges of funneling charity funding to support Hamas fighters and to buy weapons. She said the PFLP used front organizations that appeared as beneficiaries on the World Vision web site.
A British charity said it is investigating Israeli claims that one of its employees was recruited by Hamas, the Daily Mail reported on Monday, days after a Gaza-based staffer at an worldwide NGO was revealed to be acting on behalf of the terrorist group. “World Vision’s accountability processes cap the amount individuals in management positions at his level to a signing authority of US$15,000”.
The NGO has suspended its operations in Gaza.
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World Vision said that in 2012 following the allegations by Shurat HaDin, “the Australian Government undertook extensive investigations. and found no evidence substantiating the allegations”. If the same materials were put into reconstruction, the Gazan people would be better off and, lacking this crucial asymmetric warfare capability, Hamas would be less tempted to attack Israel.
