Australia is suspending funding for the Christian relief charity World Vision's operations in the Palestinian Territories following claims by Israel that the charity's Gaza representative channelled millions of dollars to Hamas.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) called the allegations "deeply troubling" and said in a statement that it was "urgently seeking more information from World Vision and the Israeli authorities."
"We are suspending the provision of further funding to World Vision for programs in the Palestinian Territories until the investigation is complete," the statement said.
Australia has paid World Vision approximately A$5.7 million (£3.31 million) over the past three financial years for the provision of aid in the Palestinian Territories, a DFAT spokesman said.
World Vision is the world's largest evangelical Christian charity and has operated in Israel-Palestine for more than 40 years.
The organisation said yesterday that it was "shocked" at the allegations from Israel. "Based on the information available to us at this time, we have no reason to believe that the allegations are true," it said. A Hamas spokesman denied that the group had any connection to El Halabi.
Mohammad El Halabi, World Vision's manager of operations in Gaza, was arrested by Israel on June 15 while crossing the border into the enclave, which is under the de facto rule of Hamas, which is on the Israeli and US terrorism blacklists.
A senior Israeli security official said on Thursday that El Halabi, who has run the group's Gaza operations since 2010, had been under extended surveillance and had confessed to siphoning off some $7.2 million a year to Hamas.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Shin Bet (one of Israel's security services) is accusing El Halabi of being a member of Hamas' armed wing, Izzedin al-Qassam, and of having infiltrated World Vision.
Shin Bet also alleged that $80,000 worth of donations from British people have been diverted to pay for Hamas-related activities.
There was confusion and mixed reports over the nature of Israeli accusations about British money being used by World Vision.
A UK Government spokesperson stressed to Christian Today that the Department for International Development (DFID) has not provided any funds to World Vision since the Israel-Gaza war of 2014.
DFID has a centrally-managed Programme Partnership Arrangement with World Vision UK. However, this does not include the Palestinian Territories.
Following the 2014 conflict, DFID provided a £2m contribution the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), alongside contributions from the UK public, to a consortium of NGOS to provide vital humanitarian assistance in Gaza. World Vision were included as part of the NGO consortium.
A UK Government spokesperson said: "We are in touch with the Israeli authorities to establish the full details of the allegations against this individual and would not hesitate to act if wrongdoing involving UK government funding became apparent and was proven."
Gaza's Palestinian Christian population is ancient but tiny, at around 1,200 people out of a total of 1.8 million.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
