Israel accused Hamas militants on Tuesday of siphoning off United Nations aid meant for Palestinian civilians, its second allegation this month of misuse of worldwide relief funds in the Gaza Strip.
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According to the Shin Bet statement published Tuesday, Wahid Burish, a 38-year-old from the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza, was arrested last month for different activities the agency describes as being supportive of Hamas.
Abu Zuhri called on the worldwide community to bear its responsibility over such “practices which could have unsafe consequences”.
According to the Shin Bet, Burash was instructed by a senior Hamas official in 2014 to use his position in order to help the organization.
They also quoted Israel’s Shin Bet security service as saying that about 60 per cent of funds designated for World Vision programmes in Gaza had been diverted to the group.
The rally-goers gathered outside the World Vision headquarters in Gaza City, lifting the pictures of activist al-Halabi.
The charges are similar to those leveled against Mohammed el-Halabi, the World Vision employee, who allegedly funneled millions of dollars in donations to Hamas’s coffers. Halabi siphoned off almost $10 million to fund Hamas terror projects, and ferried physical aid – food, blankets, tents, and much more – from the residents of Gaza for whom they were intended, providing them to members of his al-Aqsa gang. For instance, a harbor, which was built under Burash’s supervision, is now being used by the terrorist organization’s military wing.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs outlined the charges against Borsh in a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon via Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon with the expectation that the worldwide body condemn the activities.
“Foreign NGOs want to give money to Gaza”, Darshan-Leitner said, even as they “ignore all the signs that their money is diverted to terrorism”.
The security agency also said that since his arrest, el-Halabi divulged intelligence about employees working for United Nations agencies and other aid groups who were also assisting Hamas, without elaborating.
The office of the World Vision, in east Jerusalem.
Hamas has been controlling the Gaza Strip since it won the 2006 election.
The indictment was the second time in less than a week that Israel accused a Palestinian worker of an global aid organisation of helping Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement which controls Gaza.
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World Vision suspended operations in Gaza and was conducting a review, including an external forensic audit, the charity said in a statement Monday. His organization said in a statement that the failure to stop the siphoning of funds to Hamas “stems in part from a lack of will”. A dominant political force in the crowded Palestinian enclave, Hamas has long refused to recognize the existence of Israel and is considered a terrorist organization by Washington.
