Gaza: Qatar again allowed to transfer funds for families
In the northern Gaza Strip on May 14, 2021. (Illustration).
REUTERS - MOHAMMED SALEM
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Since its military operation in Gaza last May, Israel had not authorized transfers of funds to the Palestinian enclave.
Until then, funds were delivered in cash.
Now, according to an agreement between Qatar, the donor, the UN and Israel, a new mechanism will be put in place.
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With our correspondent in Jerusalem,
Michel Paul
The suitcases full of dollars transferred by a Qatari envoy, it's over.
Now the monthly grants of $ 100 for
100,000 needy families
in the Gaza Strip will be distributed through another more complicated mechanism.
Each month, Qatar will deposit $ 10 million in a UN bank account in New York.
The money will then be transferred to a Palestinian bank in Ramallah.
The Gazan branch of this banking establishment will then pay the allowances directly to the recipients in the form of rechargeable debit cards. Israeli Defense Minister
Benny Gantz
welcomed the new mechanism which he said "
ensures that the money will reach those who need it, while maintaining Israel's security needs
."
The arrangement has been greeted with a fair amount of skepticism by many commentators who believe that there is a good chance that, as in the past, the money will ultimately end up in the pockets of Hamas.
Transfers should start in the coming days and continue until the end of the year at least.
And this deal is expected to significantly lower tension on the Gaza-Israel border.
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