The head of a Gaza Strip branch of a Turkish humanitarian organization was recently arrested on suspicion of diverting aid funds to Hamas, the Shin Bet security agency revealed Tuesday. Muhamad Murtaja, 40, manager of the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency in Gaza, was arrested in February for funneling resources earmarked for humanitarian projects in the coastal enclave to Hamas' military wing, Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. He is believed to have embezzled millions of shekels donated for Gazans in need. The Shin Bet said one of Murtaja's schemes was to provide his superiors with a list of impoverished Gazans eligible for financial aid. In practice, these were provided by Hamas and were actually lists of terrorists. Murtaja was also involved in a range of terrorist activities, including military training, manufacturing weapons and explosive devices and digging terror tunnels. He was reportedly planning to obtain information that would improve the accuracy of Hamas rockets targeting Israel. Murtaja was said to have stored weapons, such as hand grenades and guns, in his home, for Hamas. Top Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Raad Saad were also involved in the fraud, the Shin Bet said. The investigation further revealed that Mehmet Kaya, the Gaza office coordinator of the Turkey-based IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, designated as a terrorist group over its support of Hamas, gave Haniyeh and Saad cash from Turkey, to be used by Hamas' military wing. "The money transferred by the IHH to the Hamas was used to build a facility to train Hamas navy commandos, as well as to purchase equipment and weapons. For years, IHH methodically transferred funds this way to Hamas for the purpose of its military buildup," the security agency said. According to the Shin Bet, Murtaja's interrogation yielded valuable information on tunnel routes, the methods used by Hamas in digging the tunnels, fighting plans, and weapons manufacturing. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Murtaja was detained on Feb. 12 after crossing into Israel with an valid permit on his way to a seminar in Turkey. It said it was closely following the case and has asked Israel for information. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum dismissed the Israeli claims as "lies and fabrications" aimed at harming charity work in Gaza. "This is a clear frightening of the donor countries and international organizations to end their work in Gaza so the suffering will increase and the siege will tighten," he said. He called on international organizations to "resist the pressure and keep up their work in Gaza."
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai issued a statement saying, "The egotistical Hamas terror organization has robbed funds that are meant for the needy of Gaza from international organizations. Hamas prospers at the expense of the residents of the Strip and uses donations meant for them to finance terror. For how long do Gazans and the international community plan to look the other way."
