Hamas opposes PA ‘exclusive’ role in Gaza aid, reconstruction

The Palestinian Authority should be responsible for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the delivery of Qatari cash grants, Israel has informed Hamas.

The Israeli message was relayed to Hamas through the United Nations, sources in the Gaza Strip told Al-Quds, a Jerusalem-based Palestinian newspaper.

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip, on Monday met in Gaza with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland.

The talks had failed, Sinwar said after the meeting. “This was a bad meeting,” he told reporters.

Hamas rejected a demand to allow the PA to exclusively oversee the reconstruction effort and the entry of the Qatari grants into the Gaza Strip, Al-Quds reported.

“Hamas considered this [demand] an attempt to twist its arm,” the sources were quoted as saying. “Hamas has no objection to the PA managing the reconstruction file on the condition that it is done through national partnership and not in a state of exclusivity.”

On Monday, the Ramallah-based Palestinian cabinet announced the formation of a team for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of last month’s fighting between Israel and Hamas during Operation Guardian of the Walls.

But Hamas officials said they were unaware of the decision by the PA to form the committee, adding that the move was not coordinated in advance with Hamas or other Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.

Naji Sarhan, a senior official with the Gaza-based Ministry of Public Works, said the PA had added his name to the team without his knowledge.

“I was surprised by the decision of the Palestinian cabinet in Ramallah to form a team for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip without informing us or coordinating with us in advance,” he said, adding that he had decided to withdraw from the team.

Other Palestinians whose names appeared on the PA cabinet’s list also were not consulted prior to the announcement, Sarhan said.

Referring to the PA-Hamas controversy surrounding reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, PA President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday said his government was the “only legitimate address” for carrying out the work.