Israel Adjourns Hearing For Turkish Aid Agency Employee

An Israeli court on Tuesday adjourned a hearing for the Gazan representative of a Turkish aid agency who Israel accuses of diverting funds to Palestinian resistance group Hamas.



The court ordered Muhammad Murtaja, a Palestinian employee of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), to remain in custody until the next court session scheduled for May 8.



Last week, Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency accused Murtaja of diverting Turkish financial assistance to fund weapons production and other activity by the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades -- Hamas' armed wing -- in the Gaza Strip.



Murtaja was detained last month at Israel's Erez border crossing between the blockaded Gaza Strip -- which has been governed by Hamas since 2007 -- and Israel.



At the time of his arrest, Murtaja had been travelling to Turkey to receive training at TIKA's headquarters in Ankara.



Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu has responded to the Israeli allegations by demanding that Murtaja be considered "innocent until proven guilty".



Turkey is closely following the case, Muftuoglu said, going on to stress that TIKA would -- despite the controversy -- continue to provide support to Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories. -