World Vision defendant convicted for assisting terrorist group

The Beersheba District Court on Wednesday convicted World Vision defendant Mohammad al-Halabi of most terror financing charges, around six years after his arrest and under pressure from the High Court of Justice to stop dragging its feet.

Who is Mohammad al-Halabi?

He was acquitted of one charge of assisting the enemy, based on the idea that, as a Gaza resident, he is not the citizen of a state.

Halabi's lawyer Maher Hana said that he would appeal the conviction to the Supreme Court.

The court found that Halabi confessed to the financial terror charges during his interrogation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).

The judges said that he was highly sophisticated and that his confession was "coherent, specific and included unique details… which he could not have concocted on the spot."

Convicted World Vision defendant Mohammad al-Halabi's confession was "coherent, specific and included unique details… which he could not have concocted on the spot."

Beersheba District Court judges

In addition, they said that there was significant external documentary proof of his actions.

Though the court said that it knew World Vision believes Halabi to be innocent, it said that it was more likely that the organization did not want to overdo oversight of its finances, lest it harms its working relations with Gazan groups.

Further, the court scheduled a hearing for July 10 to debate extending his detention and set a date for Halabi’s sentencing hearing.

Although he has already served six years in prison, his maximum sentence for convictions on over a dozen charges could run over 20 years (though maximum sentences are rare).

His Hamas connections

According to the court ruling, Halabi was recruited by Abu Cuchba of Hamas in 2004.

Though Halabi and his brother, Diya, were initially Hamas fighters, he was eventually assigned to infiltrate World Vision to be an undercover Hamas operative assisting the group, the court said.

World Vision hired him in 2005. Initially, he worked in its northern Gaza section, but by 2014 he had achieved a high management position for the entire Strip.

The judges said that throughout his World Vision employment, Halabi met with Hamas military operatives to keep up with their needs.

In the verdict, the court said that Halabi intentionally diverted large volumes of iron, plastic and digging tools to Hamas to assist it with digging terror tunnels.

Further, the court said that in 2012, Halabi twice visited terror tunnels with his brother and another operative, in one case providing the operative with $20,000 to repair tunnels destroyed by flooding.

Hana said that the court failed to address issues, such as the source and the tracing of the alleged terror funds.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-709457