Israel’s former Shin Bet head Yaakov Peri said that Israel needs to continue transferring Qatari funds to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
In an interview on Israel Army Radio on Wednesday morning Peri said that the decision not to transfer the funds has increased the possibility of a flare-up between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza coastal enclave.
“Hamas will not become a lover of Israel because of the money or because of its non-transfer” said Peri. “Israel needs to act according to its own interest which is to avoid confrontation. If the same Qatari funds cause a confrontation not to occur the broader consideration must prevail.”
The former Shin Bet head said he expects that in the end the money will be transferred because “we do not have a choice.”
“We have been on the brink of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza for a while now and once it blows up the world will come to us with complaints” he added.
Speaking from his office in Doha a couple of days ago Mohammed Al-Emadi head of Qatar’s Gaza Strip Reconstruction Committee said the latest $15 million wage payment was initially withheld by Israel but would now arrive on Wednesday.
However Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered on Tuesday to halt the third wave of the transfer of Qatari funds to the besieged Gaza Strip.
