Israeli Defense Minister Halts Fuel Deliveries in Gaza
Israel’s then-defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who has since resigned, halted all fuel deliveries to the besieged Gaza Strip after reported attacks on Israel Defense Forces soldiers and Israeli civilians. Israel and the United Nations approved the fuel deliveries, funded fully by Qatar, over the objections of the Palestinian Authority, which governs without international recognition in Israel’s West Bank, in order to alleviate a crippling energy crisis that has the potential to spark another war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
Israel and Qatar intended the fuel deliveries to provide civilians with greater access to electricity. Currently, Gazans are rationed four hours of electricity per day; the imported fuel would increase the ration to eight hours per day for the next six months. Qatar’s humanitarian relief fund purchased fuel from Israel’s Paz Oil Company, and, under Israeli protection, Qatar will truck the fuel into Gaza. According to the Times of Israel, the UN had earmarked three months of payment to Gazan civil servants, and Israel had issued entry permits to 5,000 Gazan merchants in an attempt to ensure a functioning government and reduce tensions.
Israel and Qatar, while not extending diplomatic recognition to each other, have tacitly grown closer over the situation in Gaza. Times of Israel reported a secret meeting concerning Hamas and Gaza between Lieberman and Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani two months ago in Cyprus.
Qatar has sponsored Hamas, the Gazan political authority widely considered a terrorist group, for years. Recently, however, as tensions between Israel and Gaza have escalated, Al-Monitor reports that Israel has grown to see Qatari support as a necessary stabilizing force for preventing or at least postponing a war.
Reuters reports that Qatar no longer seeks to engage with Hamas and instead aims to work with Israel to help Palestinians in Gaza. After a meeting in Jerusalem, Qatari envoy Mohammed al-Emadi said, “If we are helping Hamas, do you think the Israelis [will] allow us to go inside and come out? It’s impossible. They know we are not helping Hamas.”
Qatar, according to Al-Monitor, has ulterior motives. By forging closer ties to Israel and the United States (through Israel’s American Jewish lobby), the wealthy emirate hopes to sway the U.S. to pressuring Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain to end their year-old embargo of Qatar.
The halting of fuel delivery spells an uncertain future for de-escalation efforts on both sides. Haaretz reports that Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, pledged his commitment to peace in an interview; however, the newspaper also noted that Israeli leaders, juxtaposing Sinwar’s pledges with the continued Gazan border protests, firebomb balloons, and rocket launches, remain unconvinced.
The halting of Qatari fuel delivery foreshadows further conflict between Israel and Hamas, complicating Qatar’s actions as it attempts to mediate the situation in Gaza.