Why is Qatar helping Hamas in Gaza?
The Palestinian Authority believes the Qatari aid to the Gaza Strip serves the interests of the US and Israel, which plan to announce the "deal of the century" that aims at separating the Gaza Strip from the West Bank.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Qatar Fund for Development announced Oct. 11 its intent to offer financial aid and relief projects worth $150 million to the Gaza Strip, upon orders from Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Meanwhile, many Qatari associations launched a relief campaign called “Gaza Deserves a Better Life” on Oct. 7, under the auspices of the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities. The effort seeks to collect millions of dollars in humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip. The Qatar Red Crescent, the Qatar Charity, Education Above All and Silatech participated in the campaign.
The two-week campaign seeks to address the following urgent needs in the Gaza Strip: health, education, water and economic empowerment. The campaign ended Oct. 21. Donations reached 5 million Qatari riyals (about $1.3 million) by Oct. 16. The donors are anonymous and can make deposits at Qatari banks.
Before this latest campaign, Qatar had offered $60 million to buy the necessary fuel to operate Gaza's only power station, in cooperation with Israel and the special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov. A total of 11 fuel trucks entered Gaza between Oct. 9 and 12. However, on Oct. 13, no more trucks were allowed to enter upon an order from Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman, in response to the Palestinian protests on the Israeli border Oct. 12.
