The Shin Bet said el-Halabi siphoned about $7.2 million a year to the Islamic militant group over a period of five years.
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Israel accused Hamas of taking advantage of aid resources from global organizations in Gaza which are supposed to be used as humanitarian aid.
World Vision said in a statement that it will investigate the allegations against Halaby.
The statement goes on to allege Halabi “established and promoted humanitarian projects and fictitious agricultural associations that acted as cover for the transfer of monies to Hamas”.
World Vision said at the time it was “shocked” to learn of the charges against Mr. Halabi and, based on available information, had no reason to believe the allegations were true.
The statement said the charges demonstrate “how Hamas exploits the resources of global aid organisations at the expense of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip”.
“Last year, our work in Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza, directly benefitted more than 92,000 children; almost 40,000 of those were in Gaza”.
It alleged that past year he appropriated UNDP resources to build a military jetty in northern Gaza for use by Hamas’s naval forces.
Israel said it expected the United Nations to “unequivocally condemn Hamas for exploiting the humanitarian aid system for its own aims and… to ensure that humanitarian activities actually assist those in need in Gaza instead of assisting the terrorist leaders of Hamas”.
In this case as in many others, as Israeli commentator Ariel Bolstein notes, “When devout Christian worshippers in churches across the USA donated a dollar or two to ‘those poor children, ‘ the smiling faces on the receiving end were Hamas terrorists in Gaza”.
In addition to directing material support to Hamas, Borsh allegedly helped the group keep its weapons and materiel after they were found in United Nations locations. The indictment also states that he is suspected of allowing Hamas members to raid UNDP work sites and take supplies. Borsh confessed that he had helped Hamas build a military jetty in the northern Gaza Strip to support Hamas’ naval forces and prioritizing the rebuilding of homes where Hamas members resided. The Christian charity said it runs internal and independent audits and evaluations regularly to make sure that aid is properly given to the intended recipients, Al Jazeera relays. On Tuesday, Borsh was formally charged in a Beersheba court for assisting Hamas.
When World Vision and other organizations sent aid into Africa to help starving Ethiopians in the 1980s, observers complained that the aid was diverted by the Mengistu regime, which was fighting a brutal civil war, to forcibly relocate its citizens away from rebel-held areas.
Last week, Israel indicted a senior Palestinian manager with the US-based charity World Vision on charges of funnelling millions of dollars to Hamas in Gaza.
Israel accused him of stealing around $7.2 million a year, or around 60 per cent of all of World Vision’s funds for Gaza.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon called on the global body to take rapid action against Hamas.
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The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades in a terse statement said it “deplored” Hoor’s death.
