Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyah (right), meets with Qatari envoy Mohammed Al Emadi in Gaza City, yesterday.
Gaza City: Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas said yesterday they would not accept a fresh tranche of Qatari funds, accusing Israel of imposing new conditions on the money entering the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The rejection of the expected $15m raised fears of fresh tensions along the Gaza-Israel border, ahead of weekly protests today.
“We refuse to receive the third Qatari grant in response to the Israeli occupation’s behaviour and attempts to evade the agreement,” Khalil Al Hayya, Hamas’s deputy head in Gaza, told journalists.
Al Hayya did not name specific conditions that were changed, but said Israel was playing politics with the funds ahead of upcoming elections.
He said Hamas was protesting Israeli delays and “blackmail.” Accusing Israel of violating understandings, he said Hamas has informed Qatari mediator Ambassador Mohammed Al Emadi, who was in Gaza, of its decision.
Mohammed Al Emadi, met yesterday in the enclave with Hamas officials, including leader Ismail Haniyah.
Under an informal agreement struck in November, the State of Qatar has sent $15m a month into the strip.
The funds to pay salaries of Hamas employees and support impoverished Gazans are in exchange for relative calm along the border, where often violent protests have taken place since March 2018.
The money has been transferred via Israel.
The third tranche had been expected to enter this week but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked it on Tuesday after two shooting incidents along the Gaza border, including one in which a soldier was lightly injured.
But Israeli said yesterday that security officials had now decided to allow the transfer.
Hamas has staged regular protests along the border since last March to protest an Israeli blockade that has devastated Gaza’s economy.
More than 185 Palestinians have been killed in the demonstrations, while an Israeli soldier was shot dead in July by a Gaza sniper.
