Gaza - Qatar has agreed to buy fuel to restart the only power plant in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, a top United Nations official said Tuesday, triggering accusations by the Palestinian National Authority running the rival government in the West Bank that this will perpetuate the militants’ control of the isolated enclave.
“When Qatar pays for the fuel, Hamas in Gaza will collect the bills and put it in its pocket, and this is an indirect financial aid to Hamas,” said a PNA official.
Jamie McGoldrick, the UN’s Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, said the Qatari grant will add a few more hours of electricity to Gaza’s 2 million residents who experience daily blackouts of up to 16 hours. He said the new cashflow could sustain this boost for at least six months and that discussions were underway to find the “most optimal way” to deliver the fuel through Israel.
Local Palestinian reports said the fuel has already started to enter through Israel, but the company that runs the power station declined to comment, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
The Palestinians have cut off contact with the Trump administration since it recognised occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and are anxiously awaiting what they fear will be a new US peace plan biased in Israel’s favour.
Ahmad Majdalani, an aide to Abbas, said he was concerned the money being channelled to Gaza could play a part in that plan. “We believe that the US is directing the money to Gaza not from a humanitarian perspective but rather from a political one,” he said.
