Israel has charged the Palestinian manager of the Gaza branch of World Vision with “infiltrating the charity on behalf of Hamas and funneling about $43 million in the group’s funds over the past six years to the military wing of the Islamist militant group.”
World Vision denies having any prior knowledge of the alleged activities of Mohammad El Halabi, and there is no reason to suspect otherwise; however, it is critical to understand that jihadist organizations are notorious for using the cover of charity to fund their murderous aspirations against Israel and, in fact, all infidels.
Many such charities with an expansive global reach in fact are founded for the specific purpose of financing terror, such as: “the Benevolence International Foundation (al Qaeda), the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (Hamas) and the Islamic Committee for Palestine (Palestinian Islamic Jihad).” Also to be noted is the extensive list of “unindicted co-conspirators” who often run so-called charities.
Almsgiving, zakat, is one of the five pillars of Islam, and the rules governing to whom zakat may be given include a jihad-by-the-sword category of “those fighting for Allah”; Islamic texts are invoked in accordance with the Sharia mandate of zakat as a duty.
According to Shariah Finance Watch: “All too often, the destinations of zakat payments are to Jihadists, simply because Shariah mandates it. Maybe that is why so many Islamic charities have been implicated in terrorism financing.”
“Israel Charges Aid Group’s Gaza Branch Manager With Funneling Funds to Hamas,” by Isabel Kershner and Diaa Hadid, New York Times, August 4, 2016:
ASHKELON, Israel — The Palestinian manager of the Gaza branch of World Vision, a major Christian aid organization, was charged by Israeli prosecutors on Thursday with infiltrating the charity on behalf of Hamas and funneling about $43 million in the group’s funds over the past six years to the military wing of the Islamist militant group.
While neither the World Vision employee, Mohammad El Halabi, nor the aid group have had a chance to review the evidence and respond to specific charges, the allegations have cast a cloud over nongovernmental organizations in Gaza.
By Thursday evening in Jerusalem, the Australian government announced the suspension of funding to World Vision’s projects in the Palestinian territories. Describing the allegations as “deeply troubling,” Dave Sharma, the Australian ambassador to Israel, announced the suspension in a statement on Twitter, pending the outcome of an investigation by Australia’s foreign affairs department.
Mr. Halabi was arrested on June 15 at the Erez crossing point between Israel and Gaza, the territory controlled by Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union.
A senior official with Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of his agency’s rules, said that Mr. Halabi was recruited by the military wing of Hamas in 2004 and was instructed to infiltrate World Vision and to attempt to reach an influential position.
Briefing reporters on Thursday in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, the official said that Mr. Halabi became the manager of the Gaza branch of World Vision in 2010, and had subsequently transferred about 60 percent of World Vision’s annual budget for Gaza to Hamas.
The official said that some of the money had been used by Hamas militants to dig cross-border tunnels for the purpose of carrying out attacks in Israeli territory. Donations were also used to build a Hamas military base, and 2,500 food packages meant for needy families in Gaza were transferred to Hamas battalions, the official added.
In addition, Mr. Halabi is accused of initiating a greenhouse project designed to hide tunnel work. A project for the rehabilitation of fishermen was, in practice, used to provide motorboats and diving suits for Hamas’s military marine unit, the Israeli authorities said. The allegations could not be independently verified.
The Shin Bet official said that officers raided the organization’s offices in East Jerusalem, and emphasized there was no evidence from the investigation and interrogation of Mr. Halabi that World Vision had been aware of the misuse of its funds in Gaza….