UN Experts Urge Israel to Release World Vision Ex-Gaza Chief

Supporters of Mohammed El Halabi in Gaza in 2016. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Supporters of Mohammed El Halabi in Gaza in 2016. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
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UN Experts Urge Israel to Release World Vision Ex-Gaza Chief

Supporters of Mohammed El Halabi in Gaza in 2016. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Supporters of Mohammed El Halabi in Gaza in 2016. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The conviction and imprisonment of the former Gaza head of a major US-based aid agency violates international law, UN rights experts said Wednesday, demanding that Israel release him immediately.

The four independent experts described the proceedings leading to World Vision's Mohammed al-Halabi's conviction last year as "deeply flawed" and said the verdict and his lengthy prison sentence were "egregious violations of the right to a fair trial".

Halabi was sentenced to 12 years behind bars in August 2022, after being convicted of funnelling millions of dollars and tonnes of steel to Hamas, which controls the Palestinian enclave.

Halabi, who was arrested in June 2016 and indicted in August that year, has denied any irregularities, and an audit ordered by World Vision found no evidence he had diverted any charity funds.

The UN experts, including the Special Rapporteurs on the rights situation in the Palestinian Territory and on protecting human rights while countering terrorism, pointed to "the lack of evidence against him presented in open court".

According to AFP, they also highlighted "the extensive use of secret evidence, closed-door hearings, restricted communication with his lawyer, severe restrictions on the lawyer for the preparation of his defence and the failure to try him without undue delay".

The experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, also condemned his treatment during six years of pre-trial detention, including reported solitary confinement and coercion to provide a confession.

He also allegedly faced ill-treatment that could amount to torture, they said, pointing to beatings so severe he lost hearing in one ear.

"By convicting and imprisoning Mr. al-Halabi, Israel has not achieved its purported aim of deterring any act of terrorism," the experts said.

"Instead, by this act, Israel is violating international law and aggravating the coercive environment for Palestinians under occupation, by using 'counter-terrorism' legislation to silence, penalise and punish Palestinians who engage in legitimate human rights and humanitarian work."

The experts added Halabi's appeal hearings had been repeatedly postponed, and Israeli authorities had refused to provide access to files needed to prepare the appeal process.

They said Israel acted with a "blatant disregard for the right to a fair trial, which explicitly guarantees that the accused be tried and heard without undue delays, at all stages of criminal proceedings".

"Such manifestly unfair proceedings may render his detention arbitrary under international human rights law," they said.



Hamas: Israel's Claim on Hostages' Handover Ceremony is Pretext to Evade Obligations

Fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades escort Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov before handing him over to the Red Cross in Al Nusairat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 22 February, 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades escort Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov before handing him over to the Red Cross in Al Nusairat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 22 February, 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Hamas: Israel's Claim on Hostages' Handover Ceremony is Pretext to Evade Obligations

Fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades escort Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov before handing him over to the Red Cross in Al Nusairat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 22 February, 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Fighters from Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades escort Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov before handing him over to the Red Cross in Al Nusairat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 22 February, 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Hamas on Sunday condemned Israel's decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, saying its claim that the hostages' handover ceremonies are "humiliating" was false and a pretext to evade Israel's obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu's decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement, represents a clear violation of its terms, and shows the occupation's lack of reliability in implementing its obligations," Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.

Israel said earlier it was delaying the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners it had planned to free the day before until Hamas met its conditions, underscoring the fragility of the Gaza ceasefire accord.

Netanyahu's office released a statement in the early hours of Sunday saying that Israel was waiting to deliver the 620 Palestinian prisoners and detainees "until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies."

According to Reuters, Hamas' El Rashq said the ceremonies do not include any insult to the hostages, "but rather reflect the humane and dignified treatment of them,” adding that the "real insult" is what the Palestinian prisoners are subjected to during the release process.

The Palestinian militant group official cited the hands' tying of the Palestinian prisoners and detainees and their blindfolding and threatening them not to hold any celebrations for their release as examples of their humiliation at the hands of Israeli authorities.

Hamas has made hostages appear on stage in front of crowds and sometimes speak before they were handed over. Coffins with hostage remains have also been carried through crowds.

Israel's announcement, which also accused Hamas of repeatedly violating the month-old ceasefire, came after the Palestinian militant group on Saturday handed over six hostages from Gaza as part of an exchange arranged under the truce.