BICOM

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it would give $480m aid to the Palestinians.

$300m will be allocated for health and education in the Palestinian Authority and the remaining $180 million will be used for urgent humanitarian aid to support UN activity and increase electricity supply.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said the money would: “Help the brotherly Palestinian people to obtain their necessary life needs in the difficult circumstances imposed by the Israeli occupation forces, and the decline in the international humanitarian support provided to them… resulting in the failure to provide the basic services and basic needs of the Palestinian people in all age groups, particularly the health and education sectors.”

Qatar already sends $30m each month to Gaza to pay for fuel and has pledged an extra $15m for the next 6 months.

The funding from Qatar is a central component of the ceasefire agreement reached by Egyptian mediators between Hamas and Israel. As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel has promised to open the border crossings and expand the fishing zone. In return, Hamas has promised to rein in Islamic Jihad, to scale back demonstrations on the Israel-Gaza border and to prevent the launching of incendiary balloons.

The Palestinian Authority is currently operating a budget deficit of $180m per month as a result of its refusal to accept tax transfers from Israel, because Israel now withholds money the PA pays to prisoners convicted of terrorists offences and their families.