MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Shin Bed said it discovered that World Vision’s Gaza branch Director Muhammad Halabi was the Hamas operative who, with the knowledge of several of his subordinates but without the knowledge of the top international aid organization officials, channeled tens of millions of dollars to Hamas, which used it to purchase construction and maintenance means for its military facilities and tunnels, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Shin Bed said Halabi was arrested while trying to enter Israel from Gaza via the Erez Crossing in mid-June. The discovery of the pre-planned Hamas takeover scheme comes after almost two months investigation, the security agency added.
The agency revealed that Halabi infiltrated the World Vision organization in 2005 and has by 2015 managed to rise to the leading charity's Gaza branch position, while stealing $7.2 million dollars a year from its budget.
Hamas, an Islamist political and militant group, seeks the creation of an independent state of Palestine and wants Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories it occupied after the 1967 war. Hamas also governs the Gaza Strip independently of the Palestinian Authority.
