PALESTINIANS SLAM ‘GANGSTER’ QATAR OVER SECRET CASH DEAL
▶ Palestinian Authority sidelined by Doha envoy who delivered millions to Gaza’s Hamas rulers
The Palestinian Authority expressed anger at Qatar’s provision of millions of dollars to Gaza on Friday, saying the official who delivered the money acted like a “gangster”.
Qatar has agreed to send up to $90 million (Dh330.5m) to Gaza over the next six months, with each instalment worth $15m, to ease tension between Hamas and Israel.
Ahmed Majdalani, a senior Palestine Liberation Organisation official, berated Doha for making the deal without asking for input.
Mr Majdalani criticised Qatar’s envoy to Gaza, Mohammed Al Emadi, saying he drove the funds to the Strip through Israel like a “gangster” and “smuggled the money” into the besieged territory.
“The PLO did not agree to the deal facilitating the money to Hamas that way,” Mr Majdalani said. He is close to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
He said that an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire had faltered because of Qatar’s actions.
Although Israel sanctioned the deal, some senior ministers criticised the transfer of money into Gaza.
“This is capitulation to terrorism and in effect Israel is buying short-term calm with money, while severely undermining long-term security,” Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman told the Yediot Aharonot newspaper on Friday.
The cash deal appeared to be aimed at stopping border protests and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces. But despite the transfer, violence continued on Friday.
One Palestinian was killed and 37 were wounded by gunfire, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Rami Qahman, 28, died after being shot east of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007 and has since fought three wars with Israel, the last being in the summer of 2014 when Israeli forces killed more than 2,000 Palestinians, many of them civilians.
Since March 30, Gazans have protested against Israel’s crippling siege on the territory at their shared border.
Israel restricts Gaza’s land, sea and airspace and imposes strict security measures on people and goods crossing into the enclave.
The weekly rallies have been met with Israeli fire. Snipers have killed at least 221 Palestinians, many of them unarmed civilians.
They also wounded and maimed hundreds more.
Doctors say Israeli troops deliberately shot people in the legs to incapacitate them.
The Israeli government says the protesters were trying to breach the border and enter Israeli territory. It holds Hamas accountable for the protests and, as its rulers, any action from Gaza.
Tension has escalated to the point where fears of a new war have been expressed by senior international officials, including Nikolay Mladenov, the UN’s special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process.
Qatar said it would pay money to those wounded in the border protests, and $100 each to 50,000 impoverished Gazan families.
In another Israeli-approved deal, Qatar has started to buy more fuel for Gaza’s only power station, allowing planned energy cuts to be reduced to their lowest level in years.