Jerusalem man ‘transferred Hamas funds’ from Turkey to West Bank

Israeli prosecutors charged a Jerusalem resident on Sunday with transferring funds to terrorists after he allegedly transported money from a Hamas operative in Turkey to the West Bank on multiple occasions.

Saif al-Din Abd al-Nabi, 39, was allegedly visiting Istanbul on a business trip on an undisclosed date when he met with Hamas’s Zaqariyah Najib, who asked him to serve as a courier for funds intended as stipends for the families of imprisoned and slain Hamas terrorists.

Najib was formerly imprisoned in Israel for his involvement in the 1994 kidnapping and murder of Nachshon Wachsman, before being released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner swap.

Nabi met with Najib several times prior to his arrest, each time receiving sums of money from him — eventually totaling $25,000 — which he concealed on his person when he flew back to Israel. He then transferred the funds to the recipient families according to the express instructions handed down by Najib.

Nabi was charged in Jerusalem’s District Court with contact with a foreign agent and use of assets for terrorist ends.

“Through his actions, the defendant knowingly dealt with a foreign agent with no reasonable explanation, and used assets in order to advance or fund terrorist operations, or to reward terrorist acts,” officials said.

Under the terms of Israel’s reconciliation deal with Turkey signed in June and ratified by the Turkish parliament over the weekend, Turkey pledged to keep Hamas from carrying out activities against Israel from its territory, although Hamas would continue to be able to operate from Turkey for diplomatic purposes.