Al-Emadi said at a press conference yesterday that the decision was taken after Hamas, led by Ismael Haniya, said they would not accept the Qatari grant under any conditions put by Israel, and in a bid from the State of Qatar to lift pressure off all parties involved.
The Ambassador said that the main goal of the Qatari grant to Gaza is to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.
He also noted that there were other parties who were looking to use the humanitarian aid to steer internal elections and to make political gains, stressing at the same time the right of the Palestinian people to demonstrate and convey the message of their suffering to the world.
Al-Emadi also reviewed the latest efforts of the State of Qatar regarding the Palestinian reconciliation, pointing out that he recently held a meeting with the Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh to discuss a number of important topics, including the Rafah crossing and the Palestinian elections as well as the invitation to visit made by Russia for the Palestinian parties.
He said that he had asked the Minister of Civil Affairs to reconsider the decision of the Palestinian Authority regarding the Rafah crossing, who in response said he will discuss the matter with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Regarding the elections, al-Emadi said that the Minister Hussein al-Sheikh asked him to convey to Hamas the view of President Abbas that holding elections should be viewed as a kind of resistance to eliminate the so-called “deal of the century,” adding that President Abbas has no objection to entering the elections in all Palestinian territories, including Al Quds in a coalition.
Al-Emadi also said that some Palestinian leaders called for a meeting in Doha between the secretary-generals of different Palestinian factions to discuss elections and to determine a clear vision for the future.
The Ambassador stressed that the State of Qatar was ready to host all Palestinian parties involved to discuss all topics. Al-Emadi also said that he was informed of the acceptance of the Palestinian president to Russia’s invitation to host representatives of the Palestinian factions in the first half of February, to discuss reconciliation.