“Helen Clark must take responsibility”.
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Asked whether it is possible for aid groups to support Gazans without aiding Hamas, Nahshon said this would require “better control mechanisms over the money and its use”. Halabi also allegedly diverted food packages to Hamas fighters and allowed members of the organization’s military units to fraudulently draw salaries from the charity’s payroll.
In a separate statement, it said it had contacted United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon to inform him of Borsh’s indictment and its expectation that the United Nations “unequivocally condemn Hamas” for exploiting the system and take “concrete measures” to prevent it.
Robert Piper, the United Nations coordinator for aid in the Palestinian territories, said Monday that the allegations against el-Halabi “raise serious concerns” for aid groups in Gaza, and that, if proven true, “deserve unreserved condemnation”.
Gerald Steinberg, head of NGO Monitor, a pro-Israel group that watches assistance to the Palestinians, called on aid groups to use surveillance and intelligence technologies to track their workers. He was arrested on July 16 and indicted in a civilian court in Israel on Tuesday, a government statement said. He was charged with assisting Hamas, an internationally-recognized Islamist terrorist organization.
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.
In 2003, Borsh started working for the UNDP, one of the world’s largest development and aid organization. Most of the projects are focused on rehabilitating homes that were damaged in conflicts.
During the Waheed Borsh investigation, it was discovered that he had been instructed by a senior member of the Hamas terrorist organization to redirect his work for UNDP to serve Hamas’ military interests.
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said Mohammed el-Halabi siphoned about $7.2 million a year to the Islamic militant group over a period of five years.
The Shin Bet said Borsh used UNDP resources previous year to build a jetty for Hamas’ naval forces and that upon request by Hamas he persuaded his managers to prioritize the reconstruction of houses damaged in conflicts with Israel in areas where Hamas members lived. Borsh was acting in response to a request by Hamas.
It is not immediately clear how Mr Bursh will plead to the charges against him. Hamas smuggles in cement, diverts from construction and humanitarian donations, and even raids civilian construction sites in order to rebuild its tunnels.
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Hamas member Mohammed el-Halabi is accused of siphoning off $7.2 million dollars from the global aid organization World Vision; Germany, Australia have ceased funding the organization.
