Qatar has pledged five million dollars to the Hamas government in Gaza with the intention of furthering reconciliation efforts between Hamas and Fatah, according to a report by semi-official Palestinian news agency Ma'an.The report quoted the Gaza government's Minister of Endowment Ismail Radwan who stated on Sunday that Qatar's contribution was intended for financial support of "community reconciliation," particularly providing funds to families who lost relatives to infighting between Fatah and Hamas.Radwan stated that the proposition was made by Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh who contacted Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani via telephone to request financial support.According to the report, the money will be used to pay 'blood-money,' among other things.Hamas and Fatah announced in April that they had reached a “historic” agreement to end their differences and form a Palestinian unity government.
The announcement came one day after a senior PLO delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip for talks with Hamas leaders on ways of ending the Hamas-Fatah dispute and achieving national reconciliation.
