The Qatari government will pay the July salaries of civil servants in the blockaded Gaza Strip, a Qatari diplomat said
“The Qatari grant for the [Gaza civil servants’] salaries, valued at $31 million, will be paid out one time only,” Amb. Mohamed al-Emadi, head of Qatar’s National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, said at a press conference.
The payment, he noted, would be dispersed via the UN and would not apply to salaries owed to Gaza’s security forces.
Instructions to pay last month’s salaries for Gaza’s civil servants were issued directly by the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Qatar’s Prince Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani instructed the payments to be made in order to alleviate the suffering of the citizens of the Gaza Strip, Al-Emadi said, adding that the grant is valued at $31 million.
The funds will be distributed over the coming weeks. “Today we will send the lists of names of employees to the relevant authorities.”
Al-Emadi also announced several new projects worth $40 million, which include the $20 million Salah Al-Din Road project, $10 million to begin the second phase of Hamad Town, and another $10 million for other projects.
The National Committee is in talks with the Israeli occupation regarding the continuing crises plaguing the Gaza Strip, he added, including discussions surrounding the electricity and gas supplies.
At Tuesday’s press conference, al-Emadi said he had received a list including the names of more than 23,800 civil servants in Gaza who met the requirements of the grant. Last week, the Qatari ambassador arrived in Gaza City, where he is expected to sign a number of reconstruction projects worth a total of $40 million.
