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The Jerusalem Post

Palestinians left without aid as Hamas, Qatar squabble over delays

 
A WOMAN shows a $100 bill she received as aid from Qatar, during a lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak in Gaza City in September.  (photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/ REUTERS)
A WOMAN shows a $100 bill she received as aid from Qatar, during a lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak in Gaza City in September.
(photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/ REUTERS)

Qatar halted periodic payments of some $7 million from the Gulf to Gaza for the civil servants' salaries some three months ago, as per a local report.

Tensions are high between the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist organization and the oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar following envoy Mohammed al-Emadi's refusal to hand over grants for Palestinian public sector officials in the Strip, the local Sada news agency reported on Saturday.

Hamas sources told Sada that al-Emadi "conveyed a clear message" to Hamas, explaining that "Qatar cannot always" transfer funds to the Strip. "Permanent and better solution must be sought," al-Emadi was quoted in the report as saying to the terror group's leadership.

Qatar halted periodic payments of some $7 million from the Gulf to Gaza for the civil servants' salaries some three months ago, and negotiations on resuming the payments have reportedly reached a dead end.

Qatar reluctant to fund Gaza's sole power plant

In addition, Qatar is reluctant to transfer funds needed by Hamas to operate a fourth generator of Gaza's sole power plant, the report stated.

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Gaza suffers from a real crisis around the availability of the energy resources needed to operate the only power plant in the Strip. Providing the population of the Gaza Strip with a 24/7 power supply requires about 600 megawatts of electricity, according to a 2020 report published by B’Tselem.

Qatari envoy Mohammed Al-Emadi gestures during an interview with Reuters in Gaza City, August 24, 2019 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)
Qatari envoy Mohammed Al-Emadi gestures during an interview with Reuters in Gaza City, August 24, 2019 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)

However, the Gaza Strip receives only 180 megawatts—120 directly from Israel via 10 power lines, and 60 generated by Gaza’s power plant with the Qatari-funded fuel provided by Israel.

The talks were reportedly held during al-Emadi's visit to the Gaza Strip last week, with goals to "calm tensions" with Israel and "check on the progress of projects supervised by Qatari-backed Gaza Reconstruction Committee," according to a Fatah-linked website.

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