With Israel’s approval, Qatar has sent over $1 billion to the Gaza Strip between 2012 and 2018.
By World Israel News Staff
Qatar has given the terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip $1.1 billion between 2012 and 2018, reported Israeli daily Haaretz on Sunday, citing an international report that had examined the numbers.
Forty-four percent of the money went to infrastructure, 40 percent to education and healthcare and the remaining 16 percent to Hamas and other groups, according to Haaretz.
All of this money was transferred with Israel’s approval.
Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit held a meeting with various Israeli authorities to transfer such large sums given that they might violate the sanctions against Hamas, a terrorist organization, Haaretz reported.
Qatar also gave $50 million to UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency for the Palestinian refugees. The infusion of cash saved UNRWA from closing down after the U.S. pulled its funding on August 31, 2018. “The United States will no longer commit further funding to this irredeemably flawed operation,” a State Department spokesman said.
Qatar supplied $200 million in aid in 2018, Haaretz reports. In November of this year, Israel began allowing suitcases of cash in $15 million installments to enter the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, justifying the move at the time, said ““I am doing what I can … to restore peace and prevent a humanitarian crisis. Right now, this is the right step.”