Palestinian aid worker pleads not guilty to funding Hamas

A Palestinian charity worker who was accused of diverting aid money to Islamic militant group Hamas has pleaded not guilty in an Israeli court on Thursday.

Mohammed al-Halabi, head of Gaza operations for the Christian charity World Vision, was accused of funneling millions of dollars in aid money to Hamas. He was arrested by Israel in June while he was crossing the border into the enclave, which was under the de facto rule of the militant group.

Halabi pleaded not guilty to all charges at a district court in Beersheba in southern Israel.

Following Halabi's arrest, World Vision announced that its humanitarian work in Gaza has been suspended, and it is conducting a "thorough and wide-ranging review" of its operations.

"World Vision has not seen any credible evidence supporting the charges," the group said in a statement, according to AFP.

Halabi's lawyers complained that they were not allowed access to much of the evidence against him and objected to two additional charges that were piled on seven months after his arrest.

An Israeli official claimed in August that Halabi had confessed to diverting about $7.2 million a year to Hamas to pay for its weapons and other activities. The official also claimed that $80,000 of the funds were used by the militant group to build a military base. World Vision released a statement afterward to dispute the claims.

"World Vision's cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past ten years was approximately US$22.5 million, which makes the alleged amount of up to US$50 million being diverted hard to reconcile," the charity stated.

"Mohammad El Halabi was the manager of our Gaza operations only since October 2014; before that time he managed only portions of the Gaza budget. World Vision's accountability processes cap the amount individuals in management positions at his level to a signing authority of US$15,000," it continued.

In an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corporation three weeks ago, Halabi said that he was tortured during his interrogation. Israeli prison authorities said that Halabi was placed in solitary confinement for giving that interview without approval.

The Australian government, which has sent around $4.35 million to World Vision over the past three years, immediately suspended the funding for the charity organization following the news of allegations against Halabi.