(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The Finance Ministry in Gaza Strip has started disbursement of the Qatari financial grant to 27,000 civil servants, while the salaries of will be paid to the rest from the local revenues.
Chairman of the Qatari National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza ambassador Mohamed al-Emadi arrived on Thursday in Gaza through Beit Hanoun (Erez) border crossing, as part of the periodic inspection visits to projects of the Qatari committee to follow-up the work flow.
A $15mn Qatari cash infusion was paid out to Palestinian civil servants Friday, offering Hamas a potential domestic reprieve.
Palestinian sources said the Qatari payout, received on Thursday, was the first of a total of $90mn that would come into Gaza over the next six months with Israeli approval.
Israel had previously agreed to Qatar donating materials for civilian construction projects or fuel.
"One day, I have no money to get food or medicine for my children — and now I will buy them food, medicine and clothes," said Wael Abu Assi, a traffic policeman, outside a Gaza City post office where people queued to draw their salaries.
Observers for Qatar were present at all 12 post offices across Gaza to monitor the salary disbursements.
Employees had to present their identity card and be finger-printed.
Doha's donations, as well as UN-Egyptian truce mediation and winter rains, have tamped down the violence at the border, where Gaza medics say Israeli army fire has killed more than 220 Palestinians since the protests began on March 30 to demand rights to lands occupied illegally by Israel in 1948.
Earlier, al-Emadi visited a site near the border fence. "Long live Qatar!" shouted some of the Palestinian youths there. "Long live Gaza!" he replied.
Qatar News Agency said the donated money would benefit 27,000 civil servants out of over 40,000 public servants hired by Hamas since 2007.
The rest would be paid through local revenues it said.
Qatar has also said it would hand out $100 to each of 50,000 poor families, as well as larger sums to Palestinians wounded in clashes along Gaza's border with Israel.
Qatar has started buying additional fuel for Gaza's sole power station, allowing planned outages to be reduced to their lowest level in years.
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