Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the head of COGAT. Photo: Wikipedia.

The head of the office of Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) addressed the residents of Gaza in an Arabic video message, warning them that Hamas is destroying them, the Hebrew news site nrg reported on Thursday.

COGAT chief Major General Yoav Mordechai posted the clip on the authority’s Arabic-language Facebook page, just as news broke of the terror group’s theft of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid, sent to the populace in Gaza by the American NGO World Vision.

“I am addressing you today to talk about the terrorist organization, Hamas, which steals your money in order to promote terrorism,” Mordechai began, continuing,

What I want to reveal to you has crossed the line. After a long investigation, we discovered that Hamas has been systematically using money that countries abroad transfer to international organizations, like World Vision in the Gaza Strip, evidence of which was revealed in the confession of Mohammed Halil Mohammed El-Halabi, director of the organization in Gaza. Millions of dollars — which were intended for initiating projects, providing financial assistance for residents, and even for food packages for the needy — were transferred by Hamas to its military wing to build [terror] bases, to pay bonuses and salaries and to dig the death tunnels that will bring about your destruction and Gaza’s – something that cannot be. Hamas is burying you and your hopes of living like everyone else. I want to say clearly: the continued exploitation of Israeli policy is harming you. And we will not sit back with our arms crossed. Israel has the right to safeguard the security of its citizens and borders!

According to nrg, Mordechai is scheduled to meet on Thursday evening with the incoming president of World Vision, in order to present him with and discuss the details of the investigation.

As Israel’s Shin Bet security agency revealed in a written statement released by the Foreign Ministry,

Mohammed El-Halabi, currently employed as director of the Gaza branch of World Vision, is actually a major figure in the terrorist/military arm of Hamas. El-Halabi has been taking advantage of his position to divert the humanitarian organization’s funds and resources from the needy to benefit Hamas’ terrorist and military activities.

In fact, more than half of World Vision’s resources in the Gaza Strip – originating in aid money from Western states such as the United States, England and Australia – were transferred to Hamas to strengthen its terrorist arm.

Until his indictment on Thursday, El-Halabi, 48 — from the village of Jabalya in the Gaza Strip – was arrested at the Erez Crossing on June 15 and detained on suspicion of serious security offenses carried out on behalf of Hamas.

During his interrogation in Israel, El-Halabi admitted to being a Hamas member and having undergone training by the terrorist organization in the early 2000s. In 2005, the Shin Bet said, Hamas dispatched El-Halabi to infiltrate World Vision, believing he would have a good chance of succeeding, because his father worked for the UN and he himself had worked for the United Nations Development Program – employing Gazan “farmers” to act as lookouts for Hamas along the Gaza-Israel border.

The Shin Bet said that the investigation into El-Halabi’s activites led to additional figures in Gaza who exploited their work in humanitarian aid organizations and UN institutions to provide Hamas with funds. Furthermore, “El-Halabi’s statements portray a troubling picture in which UN institutions in Gaza are in fact controlled by the Islamist terrorist organization.”

COGAT is the authority tasked with conducting direct dialogue with the Palestinian populations of the West Bank and Gaza. Three months ago, it created an Arabic Facebook page – Al-Munassiq (the coordinator) – which so far has attracted more than 35,000 followers and 150,000 views per week.

Watch Mordechai’s message — in Arabic with Hebrew subtitles — below: