Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is working on a way for aid money to enter Gaza without being used for terrorism, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday, following reports that Bennett may allow Qatar to send Hamas suitcases of cash is his predecessor did.
“As was officially publicized, the Qatari grant to the needy in the Gaza Strip was organized by the UN, with the grant transferred in vouchers [directly to families] and not suitcases of cash as in the past,” the PMO stated.
However, the defense establishment is “examining various alternatives” for the third part of the Qatari donations.
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“When an appropriate plan is found that ensures the money won’t go to terrorist activities, it will be presented by the defense minister to the prime minister. The previous plan will not return. The prime minister will decide his position after the possibilities are presented to him,” the PMO added.
Qatar and other foreign actors have sought to send aid to Gaza in the aftermath of Operation Guardian of the Walls in May.
A PALESTINIAN sits near the rubble of a store destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City last month (MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS).
Bennett and others in his government, like Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, came out strongly against the regular cash shipments from Qatar in the final years of Benjamin Netanyahu’s premiership, which were meant to buy relative quiet from Hamas and help the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Money to needy families in Gaza went through the UN’s banking system in recent months. Israel sought to have salaries of Gazan civil servants go through traceable banking channels, but Palestinian banks, which had originally agreed to transfer the money, reversed their decision out of a concern that they would face sanctions for funding terror.
At the same time, Egypt has been working to negotiate a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Bennett is expected to visit Cairo in the near future to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah a-Sisi to discuss the matter, and others.
Israel has said that it will not reach any agreement without the return of the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, which Hamas has held since 2014, and Israeli civilians Abera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been in Hamas captivity since 2014 and 2015, respectively. Egypt is reportedly taking the demand seriously and negotiating their release.
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