Barring any last-minute change, Qatari aid money to the Gaza Strip is expected to be handed to more than 100,000 families in the coming days, a source close to Hamas said on Tuesday.
The source confirmed that progress has been made in the negotiations regarding the possibility of transferring the funds through the United Nations.
In Ramallah, a Palestinian Authority official said that Qatar and the UN have apparently reached an agreement on the disbursement of the funds.
“The Palestinian Authority is aware of the negotiations to find a solution to the problem,” the official said. “We had offered to transfer the money through the Palestinian banks.”
According to the official, the banks refused to cooperate for fear of being exposed to lawsuits on the grounds of funding terrorism.
The PA has in the past few months insisted that any financial aid to the Gaza Strip must go only through the Ramallah-based government headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.
On Monday, Egypt rebuked Hamas after the firing of a rocket from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip said. “The Egyptians delivered a strong message to Hamas that it must give the mediators more time to reach a solution,” they said.
Following the Egyptian warning, the Palestinian factions called off a meeting that was planned for Monday night to discuss ways of responding to Israel’s failure to ease restrictions imposed on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians told The Jerusalem Post.
The factions were planning to announce a series of steps to pressure Israel, including resuming protests along the Gaza-Israel border and launching more arson balloons and explosive devices into Israel.
The Egyptians are also planning to invite representatives of Hamas and other Palestinian factions to Cairo in the coming days to discuss the latest developments surrounding the situation in the Gaza Strip, including the possibility of reaching a prisoner-exchange agreement with Israel.
Earlier, sources in the Gaza Strip said that Israel has begun implementing a series of measures aimed at easing restrictions imposed on the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.
The sources claimed that the Israeli move was in the context of “new understandings” reached between Israel and Hamas under the auspices of Egypt and other international mediators.
In the morning, the Israeli authorities allowed 10 trucks loaded with car tires and imported engines to enter the Gaza Strip for the first time since the 11-day Israel-Hamas war last May, the Palestinian daily Al-Quds reported.
The Gaza-based Committee for the Coordination of Goods stated that it has been informed of the official permission to import and export various goods and commodities starting next Thursday.
The committee pointed out that building materials will be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip for the private sector and for humanitarian projects. Additionally, all products that were exported before the last military confrontation will be allowed to leave the Gaza Strip again.
According to the report, Israel also handed over 2,000 permits to the PA General Authority of Civil Affairs, which in turn handed them over to the chambers of commerce in the Gaza Strip, to distribute them to merchants who were given permission to enter Israel.