A senior official at an international aid organization has been accused of funneling millions of dollars from charity funds to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel's internal security agency said Thursday.
Mohammed el-Halabi diverted up to $50 million from U.S.-based World Vision to Hamas, used to build tunnels and buy arms, the Shin Bet said.
The Christian charity group, which operates in over 100 countries, said on its websited that it was "shocked" by the allegations and has "no reason to believe" they are true.
The Shin Bet said el-Halabi siphoned the funds by creating fictitious projects meant to help farmers, fishermen, and the disabled.
It also stated that el-Halabi was trained by Hamas in the early 2000s and was planted by the group at World Vision in 2005.
Some information from this report was provided by AP
