Israeli diplomat accuses Hamas of misusing funds meant for welfare

PUNE: Israeli deputy consul general in Mumbai Matan Zamir accused the Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip, of misusing welfare funds received from different Arabic countries and organizations like the UN to wage a war against Israel. Zamir termed it a militant outfit which is not interested in the welfare of the Palestine population.
Zamir was speaking on ‘Israel’s fight against terror in Gaza and India-Israel relations’ at an event organized by the India-Israel Friendship Forum (IIFF) in Pune on Saturday.The event was organized in the backdrop of the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Zamir said, “Hamas is not interested in building schools, hospitals, homes etc. for which it has been receiving huge funds from friendly Arabic nations, the UN, the Red Cross and other organizations. Instead, it is misusing the money to effect deadly strikes on Israel.”
Zamir identified two primary threats to Israel in the form of rockets being fired by militants from the Gaza strip and the 44-odd terror tunnels, each having the potential of carrying out a terror attack in Israel like the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai in 2008.
“In the last 45 days, 4,000 rockets have been fired from the Gaza strip into Israeli land. As a democratic, souvreign country, we cannot allow our citizens to be threatened and we have the right to defend,” he said.
Zamir said, “Israel has so far destroyed 34 terror tunnels, each of which requires funds to the tune of $3 million and a workforce of 400 people. Many Palestine children have died in the process of building these tunnels but the Hamas simply won’t give up on the plan. All the 11 cease fire attempts so far have been broken by the Hamas.”
The deputy consul general also blamed Hamas for a sustained misinformation campaign relating to the casualties. “The number of casualties coming out in the media is not sourced independently but from the Hamas and often includes those whom the militant organization kills on suspicion of being Israeli spies. Terrorists are not known to be in uniform and those launching rockets against Israel, when killed are named as civilians to show bigger casualties.”
BJP vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Indian Air Force’s former vice chief Air Marshal (Retd) Bhushan Gokhale, chairman of IIFF Abhay Mate, members of Beni Israeli community in the city and others were present.
Security drill delays event
A communication gap between the organizers, the city police and the Israeli security officials over sanitization of the venue of visit of Israeli deputy consul general Matan Zamir delayed the event by an hour-and-a-half.
Zamir's speech was to start at 6 pm and members of the audience were already into the auditorium, but there was no sign of the guests till it was announced that the hall will have to be evacuated for security check before the Israeli diplomat can move in.
Chaos prevailed for some time as people moved out and waited patiently for the city police and the Israeli security officials to complete the security drill that included sanitizing the area, frisking all participants and checking out the cameras among other measures.
One of the exasperated participants said, "The city police could have got the security drill done in advance in coordination with the Israeli authorities rather than making us go through this inconvenience."
Deputy commissioner of police (special branch) Sanjay Patil told TOI that the Israeli diplomat was provided 'Y' category security comprising a gunman after the special protection unit intimated us about his arrival in Pune on Saturday afternoon.
"Sanitizing the area was not a requirement for dignitaries with 'Y' category security. The organizers did not inform us about the Israeli authorities' requirement to get the area sanitized nor did they give us any prior intimation about his arrival in Pune," said Patil.