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Qatari Fund to Gaza to be Settled Soon

A field on fire is seen after Palestinians in Gaza sent incendiary balloons (Reuters)
A field on fire is seen after Palestinians in Gaza sent incendiary balloons (Reuters)
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Qatari Fund to Gaza to be Settled Soon

A field on fire is seen after Palestinians in Gaza sent incendiary balloons (Reuters)
A field on fire is seen after Palestinians in Gaza sent incendiary balloons (Reuters)

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is working to remove the obstacles preventing the delivery of Qatar aid through the local banking system without exposing Palestinian banks to any risks or penalties, announced the Minister of Social Development Ahmed Majdalani.

Israel has suspended the transfer of Qatari funds to the Gaza Strip, amounting to $30 million per month.

Tel Aviv stipulated that the transfer, especially those directly paid to 10,000 people at $100, should be made through the PA and the UN.

Hamas initially refused the proposal, but Israel insisted, and then the Authority set conditions to avoid any legal problems related to the transfers.

The matter is expected to be settled this week, according to sources.

Majdalani pointed out that security bodies, including the Shin Bet, will check the names nominated to benefit from the grant and ensure they are not connected to Hamas.

The names will then be included in statements of the Ministry of Social Affairs, provided that they receive their money through Palestinian banks and not in bags, as was the case previously.

Meanwhile, Israeli aircraft bombed Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip on Saturday in response to incendiary balloons launched from the enclave.

The Israeli military spokesman said its airstrikes were a "response to continual launches of incendiary balloons from Gaza into Israel throughout the day."

On Friday, balloons were launched from Gaza, causing at least four fires in areas near Ashkelon.

Israeli spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Authority said that investigations determined that incendiary balloons caused the fires.

Tensions rose after a quiet week, but the delay in the arrival of Qatari funds to the Strip prompted Hamas to resume launching the balloons to pressure the Israeli government to allow the entry of the Qatari grant.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum confirmed in a statement that Gaza youth insist on targeting the settlements, proving they will do not accept the dictations of the occupation.

Barhoum reiterated that the "hollow parades" and "empty targeting" by the occupation would not intimidate Gazans or discourage them from continuing to resist the blockade.

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Arab World

Netanyahu ‘Takes Revenge’ on Macron in Lebanon

 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
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Netanyahu ‘Takes Revenge’ on Macron in Lebanon

 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)

Israel’s insistence that France can not be a member of the international committee that will monitor a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon is due to a series of French practices that have disturbed Israel recently, political sources in Tel Aviv revealed.
These practices are most notably attributed to the French judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, who has joined other judges to unanimously issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the sources revealed.
“The Israeli government is following with concern the French role at The Hague,” they said, noting that veteran French lawyer Gilles Devers led a team of 300 international lawyers of various nationalities who volunteered to accuse Israel of “committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
According to the Israeli Maariv newspaper, Israeli officials believe that Devers, who signed the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Galant, would not have dared to do so without having received a green light from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Israeli sources also mentioned other reasons for Israel’s anger at France, such as the government’s decision to bar Israeli firms from exhibiting at the Euronaval arms show near Paris earlier this month.
French officials have repeatedly said that Paris is committed to Israel's security and point out that its military helped defend Israel after Iranian attacks in April and earlier this month.
Paris has so far also refused to recognize the Palestinian state. But the Israeli government is not satisfied. It wants France to follow the United States and blindly support its war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Tel Aviv also feels incredibly confident that France should be punished, and therefore, decided that Paris could not participate in the Lebanese ceasefire agreement, knowing that the Israeli government itself has traveled to Paris several times begging for its intervention, especially during the war on Lebanon.
Meanwhile, an air of optimism has emerged in Israel around the chances for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon following negotiations led by US envoy Amos Hochstein.
But any optimism relies on Netanyahu’s final decision. The PM is still conducting talks with his friends and allies of the far right who reject the ceasefire agreement and instead, demand that Lebanese citizens not be allowed to return to their villages on the border with Israel. They also request that a security belt be turned into a permanently depopulated and mined zone.
Hochstein Talks
Meanwhile, political sources in Israel claim that what is holding up a ceasefire deal so far is Lebanon. According to Israel's Channel 12, Hochstein expressed a “firm stance” during his talks with the Lebanese side. The envoy delivered clear terms that were passed on to Hezbollah, which the channel said “led to significant progress” in the talks.
Israeli officials said that Tel Aviv is moving towards a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon with Hezbollah in the coming days.
The channel said that during his late visit to Tel Aviv, coming from Beirut after talks with Speaker Nabih Barri, Hochstein said, “I placed before them (Lebanese officials) a final warning, and it seems to have been effective.”
Iran Obstacle
Despite the “positive atmosphere,” informed diplomatic sources pointed to a major obstacle: Iran.
Channel 12 quoted the sources as saying that Lebanon has not yet received the final approval required from Iran, which has significant influence over Hezbollah.

According to the draft proposal, the Lebanese Army must be redeployed to the south and carry out a comprehensive operation to remove weapons from villages. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will “supervise and monitor the implementation of the operation.”
Channel 12 said Israel believes that such details could still derail the agreement. It also said that Hezbollah could violate the truce.
“In such cases, Israel would have to conduct military operations inside the Lebanese territory,” the channel reported, adding that “one of the unsettled issues is related to the committee that will oversee the implementation of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
The sources said Tel Aviv “insists that France is not part of the agreement, nor part of the committee that will oversee its implementation.”