Qatar delivered $15 million U.S.D. in financial-aid to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip last night. Two-thirds of the sum is earmarked for families in need of humanitarian assistance, each of which will receive $ 100; and the remaining $5 million was allocated to a World Bank program, dubbed “Cash for Work.” In addition, Qatar transferred another $10 million to Israel to fund the purchase of fuel for Gaza’s sole power plant.
It is important to point out, the financial aid transfer to the Islamist controlled territory comes at the height of renewed tensions along the Gaza-Israel border. Dozens of incendiary kites and balloons have been flown from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory, instigating multiple blazes in natural forests and agricultural fields. While personnel at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said they had no relevant statement on the matter, the Israeli leader’s main political rival, Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz, condemned the transfer as an act that clearly demonstrates the loss of Israel’s power of deterrence. In a statement on his Twitter account this morning, Gantz wrote: “Loss of deterrence – suitcases (filled with) dollars (are) again transferred, and there is no diplomatic achievement that will secure quiet for the residents of the (Gaza) periphery.”