Israel’s false claims about World Vision

Abunimah records that Dore Gold, the Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry claims that all humanitarian aid to Gaza amounts to support for terrorism.  He also says that the Israeli news websiteYnet has referred to Israeli government instructions to their diplomats to smear World Vision especially among Christian communities around the world.

Collective punishment forever?

The controversy surrounding World Vision and the arrest of their manager in Gaza should be seen in the context of efforts to label all the people of Gaza as synonymous with the fundamentalist group which rules them.  Maintaining the siege of almost two million people, half of whom are children, is not the only collective punishment imposed by Israel and its allies. Cancellation of aid is another form of cruelty and is unlikely to end.

Abuninmah says it is ominous that the intelligence agency Shin Bet which has imprisoned Mr. El Halibi, has warned that World Vision is likely to be the only the first of many humanitarian organizations and even UN agencies targeted by allegations that they support terrorism. 

Ever since the massacre of over 2000 Gazans in 2014, including at least 500 children, world public opinion has been swinging in favour of Palestinians’ calls for peace with justice. To resist this trend, Israel uses every means to gain victories in the war of public opinion – by dramatizing Israeli virtues, by demonising Palestine’s supporters, by throwing mud against all Gazans and hoping that it sticks.  

Forewarned should mean forearmed. Even if Tim Costello and his colleagues can show that the charges against Mohammed El Halibi are trumped up, Israel will not end the siege of Gaza or the occupation of Palestinian lands.

This World Vision controversy provides another opportunity for Australian politicians to show the courage of their convictions about human rights, to demonstrate their commitment to the rules of international law and to a common humanity. They can do so by defending World Vision, by insisting on the rights of Mohammed El Habibi and by insisting on the continuation of aid to the people of Gaza and the West Bank.