Simon Cox Blog: Israel Accuses World Vision’s Gaza Leader of Giving Millions to Hamas

Friday, 5 August 2016

Israel Accuses World Vision’s Gaza Leader of Giving Millions to Hamas

World Vision says it is 'shocked' but 'we have no reason to believe that the allegations are true.'

The leader of the Gaza branch of World Vision was charged yesterday by Israeli authorities with funneling millions of dollars to support Hamas.

Mohammad El Halabi, who has managed operations in the Gaza Strip since 2010, allegedly listed Hamas members as farmers with disabled children so they could receive assistance, alleged the Israel Security Agency (ISA) according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Both World Vision and Hamas deny the claim. World Vision is the world’s largest Christian humanitarian organization, and has worked in Israel-Palestine for 40 years. Hamas is a militant Islamist group elected to govern the Palestinian territory of Gaza and identified by the US government as a foreign terrorist organization.

World Vision advocated for Halabi’s release after he was detained in June, initially unaware of the charges against him. “We have no reason to believe that the allegations are true,” it stated.

According to the investigation by the ISA, Halabi confessed to his involvement. His lawyer has stated that Halabi was looted by Hamas fighters.

The ISA report states that World Vision funds intended for fisherman instead bought diving suits and boats for Hamas’s navy, and money marked for building greenhouses was actually spent on digging military tunnels—while the greenhouses hid the tunnel entrances. Trucks unloaded 2,500 World Vision food packages and 3,300 cleaning and personal hygiene packages directly into Hamas warehouses disguised as World Vision facilities, according to the report.

Another $80,000 from British supporters built a Hamas stronghold during the 2014 war and paid for Hamas members’ salaries, Israeli authorities said. Thousands also went to buy guns for Hamas in Sinai. ...