Agencies-Gaza post
Israeli court charges Gaza Aid Worker as “Terrorist”
An Israeli occupation court charged on Wednesday a Gaza aid worker guilty of various terrorism accuses in a high-profile case in which his employer, independent auditors, and the Australian government all report that there is no evidence of wrongdoing.
Mohammed Halabi, who was the Gaza head for the international Christian charity World Vision from 2014 until he was detained in 2016, was accused of diverting several millions of dollars to the Hamas Movement.
Sources stated that the trial, and his prolonged arrest, have further strained relations between Israel and humanitarian organizations that give aid to Palestinians.
Both Halabi and World Vision have rejected any wrongdoing, and an independent audit in 2017 also found no proof of any support for Hamas.
Halabi’s lawyer, Maher Hanna, said that he turned down various plea bargains offers on principle although the deals would’ve authorized his client to walk free.
Halabi has not yet been sentenced, and World Vision said he would appeal the ruling, which was massive based on classified information that has not been made public but was shared with the defense.
The occupation court in delivering the verdict claimed that Halabi was guilty of several charges, including membership in terror institutions, giving information to a terror group, taking part in forbidden military exercises, and carrying an armed weapon.
It said that he diverted “millions” of dollars every year, as well as equipment, from World Vision and its donors to Hamas.
The Israeli court asserted it was not convinced by World Vision’s testimony that it had firm controls in place that would have prevented the diversion of such aid. The court reported the full 254-page decision was “confidential and cannot be made public.”
The verdict was presented to rely heavily on a confession by Halabi that has not been made public. Hanna has said the confession was given under duress to an informant and should not have been admitted as evidence.
Hanna stated that he had not yet read the full decision but accused the judge of siding with Israeli security forces and relying on evidence that has not been made public — and which he has previously described as unreliable. “All the judge said if I want to summarize it in one sentence: ‘The security forces cannot be wrong, they are probably right,’ ” he told reporters.
