Qatar, PA agree on mechanism to transfer funds to Gaza

Qatar and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have reached a deal on the transfer of aid to the Gaza Strip after Hamas agreed to have the PA involved in the process, Israeli sources reported yesterday.

PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh was reported by Israeli media saying on Monday night that “the PA agrees to be responsible for transferring part of the Qatari grant to the Gaza Strip intended only for needy families.”

The agreement was forged between “the State of Palestine through the Ministry of Social Development and the Qatari Foreign Ministry through the Gaza Rehabilitation Committee.”

Funds will be transferred subject to the supervision of the Palestinian Monetary Fund.

Recipients will receive their assistance through special ATM cards bearing Qatar’s logo and that of the bank which is paying the assistance.

The transfers include assistance to 100,000 beneficiaries from poor families as well as to 27,695 other beneficiaries from the Hamas-run government in Gaza, and amount to $100 for each recipient.

Hamas has not commented on the news, however it is believed that the movement agreed to the deal on condition that the names of the recipients remain unchanged and fees are not deducted from the funds allocated to them.

Following Israel’s assault on Gaza in May, newly appointed Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wanted to establish a new mechanism for the entry of aid to the besieged Strip.

“The Qatari money for Gaza will not go in as suitcases full of dollars which end up with Hamas, where Hamas in essence takes for itself and its officials a significant part of it,”  Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev told Israel’s Army Radio last month.

Gaza: UN envoy calls on Israel to ease restrictions on movement of goods, people