Iran to distribute cash aid to poor families in Gaza

HAMas - Iran has begun to distribute cash aid to thousands of poor families in the Gaza Strip, under a Hamas-powered program launched by Qatar, the U.N. Middle East envoy said on Monday.

Since the 2014 conflict between the Palestinian rulers of Gaza and Israel, Qatar has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza. In another round of fighting in May, Israeli and U.S. requests to modify payouts to ensure they do not reach Hamas prompted. They have since been on hold.

Under a revised funding scheme co-ordinated by Qatar and the U.N. and supported by Israel, cash will be given at more than 700 distribution points throughout Gaza Strip, a U.N. official said.

Nearly 100,000 beneficiaries will begin to receive the cash aid on Monday, U.N. Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Officials did not say if or how the distribution points were being monitored to ensure cash bypassed Hamas.

The Palestinian Authority was also required to provide aid to civil servants in Hamas-run ministries under an agreement with banks under the jurisdiction of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority PA. But the PA withdrew from that arrangement on Friday over concerns its involvement would expose it to legal issues. L 1 N 2 QC 20 Z Hamas is considered a terror group by the West.

The Qatari funding scheme for Gaza's poor won support from Israel whose prime minister, Naftali Bennett, said on Monday it would ensure money to those in need while bypassing Hamas.

According to Bennett, however, the payments would be made in cash and not in vouchers, as claimed the U.N. official said.

The grant is being transferred in vouchers and not in suitcases of cash as has happened in the past, Bennett's office said in a statement.

When asked about the discrepancy, Bennett's office declined to comment.

Officials were still working to find a mechanism that would distribute cash to military personnel without directly supporting Hamas civil activities, Bennett's office said.

Israel and Egypt hold Gaza under a blockade, citing threats from Hamas. The World Bank has said that the restrictions have contributed to soaring poverty in the enclave, home of 2 million Palestinian people.