Israel charges senior Gaza aid worker with funneling tens of millions to Hamas

Judah Ari Gross

World Vision charity denies its Gaza chief diverted 60% of his budget to terror group, which allegedly used the cash to finance weapons, tunnels

Over the course of several years, the Hamas terrorist organization siphoned off “tens of millions of dollars” from the US-based World Vision charity for its military wing, the Shin Bet security service said Thursday

Those funds — allegedly 60 percent of the charity’s total budget — were used to purchase weapons, dig tunnels and construct military installations for Hamas, investigators said.

Muhammad Halabi, a Hamas member and manager of operations for World Vision in Gaza, was indicted on a number of security-related charges in a Beersheba court on Thursday for his role in the alleged scheme. He was arrested in a joint Shin Bet-IDF-Israel Police operation at the Erez Crossing on June 15 as he tried to return to the Strip, the Shin Bet said.

Halabi, a member of Hamas from a young age, was handpicked to infiltrate the international charity in 2005 in order to steal money for the terrorist organization, according to the investigation.

“This was a meaningful and important investigation that showed — above all — the cynical and crude way in which Hamas takes advantage of funds and resources from international humanitarian aid organizations,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.
Muhammad Halabi, a member of Hamas and manager of the World Vision charity’s operations in the Gaza Strip, was indicted on August 4, 2016, for diverting the charity’s funds to the terrorist organization. (Shin Bet)

In a statement released following the indictment, World Vision defended Halabi and denied the allegations against him.

“Based on the information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe that the allegations are true. We will carefully review any evidence presented to us and will take appropriate actions based on that evidence,” the group wrote.

After rising through the ranks of World Vision, Halabi became the manager of World Vision’s activities in the Gaza Strip. “In that capacity he controlled the budget, equipment and humanitarian aid packages worth tens of millions of dollars,” the Shin Bet said.

There he was able to funnel approximately “60 percent of World Vision’s annual budget for the Gaza Strip to Hamas,” according to his testimony, which amounted to approximately $7.2 million every year.

This was mostly commonly done by Halabi offering fake tenders for work. “The ‘winning’ company was aware that 60% of the project’s funds were bound for Hamas,” the Shin Bet said.

Approximately 40 percent of World Vision’s funds for civilian projects — $1.5 million a year — was also given to Hamas battalions in cash, according to the Shin Bet, along with approximately $4 million a year that was designated for helping the needy.

According to investigators….. [ read more:   Israel charges … ]

The Hidden Jewish Treasures in Saddam Hussein’s Basement

Hamas asks Saudis to prevent ‘normalization’ visits to Israel

DOV LIEBER

Request follows rare visit to the Jewish state by high-profile delegation from the kingdom

Former saudi general Dr. Anwar Eshki (center, in striped tie) and other members of his delegation, meeting with Israeli Knesset members and others during a visit to Israel on July 22, 2016 (via twitter)” title=”Former saudi general Dr. Anwar Eshki (center, in striped tie) and other members of his delegation, meeting with Israeli Knesset members and others during a visit to Israel on July 22, 2016 (via twitter)

Hamas on Sunday asked the Saudi government to prevent “normalization” visits to Israel, following a recent visit by a Saudi delegation which held talks with Israeli officials and MKs in Jerusalem.

Retired Saudi general Anwar Eshki led the delegation of academics and businessmen on an extremely rare visit last week, in a bid to encourage discussion of the Saudi-led peace plan, which would see 57 Arab and Muslim nations normalize ties with Israel after the completion of an agreement with the Palestinians.

In a statement on its website, Hamas, an Islamist terror group that rules the Gaza Strip, called on Saudi Arabia to “take measures to prevent these normalizing visits that [Israel] uses to undermine the rights of Palestinians and penetrate into the [Muslim] nation in thought and culture.”

The statement also expressed appreciation for what Hamas described as growing anger in Saudi Arabia over the former general’s visit to Jerusalem.

Saudi government permission was likely necessary for Eshki and the delegation of Saudi academics and businessmen to make the visit to Israel.

While in Jerusalem, Eshki met with Foreign Ministry Director Dore Gold, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, and several Knesset members from the opposition.

The meetings with Gold and Mordechai reportedly did not take place at official Israeli government facilities but at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.

On Wednesday, the Saudi-owned al-Hayat newspaper quoted an unnamed Saudi Foreign Ministry official as saying the rare public engagement “does not reflect the views of the Saudi government.”

Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official relations and the kingdom prohibits its citizens from traveling to Israel. It also does not grant visas to Israelis.

While Hamas has publicly continued to support Saudi Arabia and expressed hope for friendly relations with the country, the kingdom has continued to keep the Gaza-based group, considered a terror organization by Israel and much of the Western world, at arm’s length.

At an anti-Iran rally in Paris earlier this month, Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former intelligence chief and diplomat, claimed that Tehran was using Hamas and other proxy terror groups to “create chaos” in the Middle East.

AFP contributed to this report.

You’re About To See One of God’s Most Evident Miracles

Jankovic Productions

Israel is opening an innovation center to showcase Israeli technology and inspire young entrepreneurs

Fitz Tepper

It’s no secret that Israel is a hotbed of technological innovation. Just over the past few years the country has given birth to popular consumer startups like Waze, Viber and Fiverr. Plus, Israel also is the birthplace of many hard science inventions like USB Flash Drives and coronary stents.

But Israel is at a crossroads of sorts. While the country wants to proudly show off these technology “wins”, they are also mindful of the fact that there’s no point in remembering the past if they can’t continue to drive innovation going forward.

The solution? Using tales of the past to inspire the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs.

One way Israel is accomplishing this is through former President of Israel Shimon Peres’ new Israeli Innovation Center at the Peres Peace House in Jaffa.

Announced today, the center will highlight inventions and companies already created in Israel as well as future Israeli technologies yet to be developed.

But the point of the center isn’t to just brag about Israel. In fact, President Peres noted that the main point is to ensure that Israel never stops innovating:

The primary focus will be on the path to the future. We will prove that innovation has no limits and no barriers. Innovation enables dialogue between nations and between people. It will enable all young people – Jews, Muslims and Christians –to engage in science and technology equally. Here we will emphasize that we can promote peace from childhood, and we will spark the imagination of every boy and girl and enrich their dreams.” – Former President Shimon Peres

So how will it achieve this? Firstly, part of the center will dedicated to “showcasing leading Israeli companies”, and Israeli inventions that span across different industries.

But more importantly, the rest of the center will serve as a community space. It will be a place for entrepreneurs to meet, work, learn and even participate in hackathons. Peres emphasized that it will be a place to gain hands-on learning experience not found in a traditional school or university.

The former president sees technology as the best way to better society and create peace in the world, and wants to make sure the next generation of makers and entrepreneurs are both inspired and trained to be able to do so.

And judging by the guests of honor at the dedication it’s safe to say that this will be the flagship technology center for the entire country – the event was attended by the country’s three most important people – former President Peres, current Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, and current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In fact, all three tried virtual reality headsets on at the ceremony. President Peres told us that trying VR was “something totally new,” and could help create the dreams that create a new reality”.