Qatar: Doha distanced from Hamas

At a time of heightened tensions between Hamas and Israel, exacerbated by the forthcoming Israeli general election, Qatar’s envoy to Gaza Mohammed Al-Emadi has announced that Doha’s aid to the Gaza strip – provided with tacit support and oversight from Israel – will no longer be channelled to Hamas, but instead will be allocated directly to specific United Nations-administered humanitarian projects. He said this was to reduce the risk that Hamas will misappropriate funds or divert them to other purposes.