Qatari envoy to Gaza Mohammad al-Emadi is reportedly planning to hand out cash to needy Arab families in Gaza again, according to reports late Sunday in Hebrew media.
The envoy traveled to Gaza on Sunday, where Arab media reported that al-Emadi said $100 in cash would be handed out Monday to 55,000 poverty-stricken Gaza families. Additional funds are to be delivered to Gaza officials through a bank-to-bank transfer for “authorized projects,” according to the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency.
Al-Emadi arrived with the $5.5 million grant after Israel, Qatar and the United Nations arrived at an agreement over how the funds would be distributed in the enclave following a problem in January, when Hamas refused to accept the third tranche of $15 million.
Up to that point, the envoy was carrying the promised monthly payments of $15 million in three suitcases stuffed with cash that was intended to cover civil service salaries as well as a payment for humanitarian aid.
In January, however, when the tranche was refused on the grounds that Israel was using the payment as a form of coercion, Qatar directly distributed $10 million to 94,000 poverty-stricken families instead.