Israel, PA block transfer of Gaza reconstruction funding: official

The Palestinian Authority and Israeli government have "impeded" the transfer of Qatari aid for the reconstruction of the besieged Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official in the besieged enclave told The New Arab on Monday.

Qatar pledged to contribute to the rebuilding of Gaza after Israeli jets pounded the strip for 11-days during a war between Israel and Hamas in May.

Doha offered an aid package of $500 million, while Egypt also pledged $500 million to rebuild residential buildings and for the construction of other community projects.

More than 1,100 construction units were completely destroyed by the Israeli air forces in May and more than 37,000 others were either badly or moderately damaged, according to officials in the Hamas-run ministry of housing and public works in Gaza.

Naji Sarhan, the undersecretary of the ministry, told TNA that despite massive destruction in the impoverished enclave, both the Palestinian Authority and Israel have withheld the transfer of funds to Gaza.

"The Qatari funds are supposed to reconstruct the destroyed housing units as a result of the recent aggression," Sarhan said. 

"Unfortunately, there are no commitments yet to rebuild the completely demolished towers."

However, the reconstruction process had been going "very slowly" due to a lack of access to funds needed, he said.

Sarhan stressed that people who lost their homes during the bombardments are still waiting for now permanent shelters.

Sarhan urged the Palestinian Authority to facilitate the transfer of reconstruction funds to Gaza's affected citizens and lift all obstacles for accessing donations.

The PA has exercised limited authority in Gaza since Hamas took control of the coastal enclave in 2007, following a brief civil war between Fatah and Hamas after the latter won the 2006 elections.

Western powers have long engaged with the PA as the de facto representatives of the Palestinians, with the US and EU considering Hamas a "terrorist organisation".