BICOM

An engineer in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been arrested for allegedly aiding Hamas, it was revealed yesterday.

Waheed Borsh, an aid worker for the UNDP in Gaza, was arrested four weeks ago by the police and the ‘Shin Bet’ General Security Service.

According to the police and Shin Bet, Borsh was instructed by a senior Hamas member to redirect UNDP aid towards projects that would benefit the organisation and its military capacity. He was accused of having built a jetty in northern Gaza, with UNDP resources, to be used by Hamas naval commandos.

Borsh is also suspected of having leaked important information to Hamas. If UNDP found weapons or tunnel openings while demolishing and rebuilding Palestinian houses, Borsh would inform Hamas who would then secure the house and the weapons. He also allegedly encouraged UNDP to focus on restoring the houses and neighbourhoods of Hamas members over the general Gaza public.

The announcement comes a week after news of the arrest of Mohammed El-Halabi, the Gaza head of international charity World Vision, who is accused of funnelling millions of shekels to Hamas projects via a sophisticated network of front organisations, fake tender processes and forged update reports.

World Vision International denies the allegations, claiming that they are impossible and that El-Halabi did not control the amount of money reported.

El-Halabi is also charged with recruiting a Save the Children employee to work for Hamas. A spokesman for Save the Children told the Times of Israel: “We do take any allegations of this nature very seriously and are making inquiries into this matter.”

The UNDP is a UN agency focused on development and construction. In Gaza, UNDP is particularly active in restoring homes and infrastructure from conflict damage. The UK is one of the biggest international donors to UNDP.

In related news in Gaza, at least 10 people – believed to be from Islamic Jihad – were injured when a tunnel in Shajuiyya neighbourhood – the focus of fighting in 2014 – leading into Israeli territory collapsed in Gaza yesterday. Last month, a leading Israeli news agency reported that as part of its subterranean network it intends to use to attack Israel, Hamas was digging at least six miles of underground tunnels each month.