The Qatari envoy in Gaza Mohammed al-Amadi recently said in talks behind closed-door that Qatar does not intend to continue paying for electricity going to the Gaza Strip after the coming April, Kan, Israel’s Public Broadcasting Corporation, reported Monday night.
According to Arab sources, Qatar is discouraged by the foot-dragging in major projects in Gaza. Qatar has pledged to finance diesel fuel for the Gaza power station for six months, and since last November it has transferred $10 million each month to that end. The final transfer is due in April, and the Qatari envoy says there won’t be any more coming.
However, those same sources believed that al-Amadi’s message was intended to pressure the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip to accelerate the large-scale projects intended to normalize the supply of electricity. At the top of the list of these projects is the connection of the Gaza Strip to the Israeli Electric Company’s Line 161, which would double the amount of electricity going to Gaza homes.
The problem is that Hamas is not interested in diverting its efforts to positive channels, such as working to provide services to its population. Instead, Hamas appears to believe that the path to financial gain goes through revving up violence against Israel.
A case in point regarding the willingness of the Hamas government in Gaza to cooperate with Israel, here’s another news item from Kan:
IDF forces located on the border fence with the Gaza Strip have identified an increase in the number of children on the first line of disturbances on the Gaza Strip border over the past two weeks. These children’s ages are as low as eight and nine.
The IDF believes that the reason for the increase in the number of children engaged in violent protest has to do with leaflets in Arabic found at the center of these disturbances, which promise that anyone who is injured in the demonstrations will be awarded 300 shekel (roughly $83).
Last Friday, some 11,000 Arabs demonstrated in two main locations, at the Karni crossing and near Al Bureij, and more than 20 were injured.
Which proves at least one positive fact: some of the children in Gaza know how to read.