By Kaamil Ahmed
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel on Thursday claimed that the Gaza director of a major international charity organization siphoned off millions of dollars in humanitarian aid every year for use by Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
In a Thursday statement, Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency accused Mohammed al-Halabi, the Gaza director of U.S.-based charity World Vision, of "infiltrating" the charity over several years with a view to using his position to finance the armed wing of Hamas.
The intelligence agency accused him of diverting $7 million a year -- some 60 percent of the charity’s total allocations to Gaza -- to Hamas projects, including some with military applications.
World Vision, a Christian development charity, said it was "shocked" by the charges against al-Halabi, who was arrested by the Israeli authorities on June 15 while on his way home from work.
"Based on the information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe the allegations are true," a statement from the charity read.
"We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and will take appropriate actions based on that evidence," it added.
World Vision went on to stress that it was subject to independent audits and other controls as to how its donations were distributed.
Hamas, for its part, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, has yet to comment on the allegations.