Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. Photo: Alchetron.

According to the Times of Israel on Sunday:

Qatar’s special envoy to Gaza, Muhammad al-Amadi, said that he maintains “excellent” ties with various Israeli officials, and that in some case it is Palestinian officials who are holding up efforts to better the lives of residents of the Strip.

Al-Amadi said he planned to meet with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Sunday regarding an agreement that would help solve the Gaza energy crisis.

He said that while Israel has agreed to take part in the deal, the Palestinian Authority has been holding it up.

“We proposed the establishment of a technical committee, free of politicians, that would be responsible for handling Gaza’s energy problem. The committee would be composed of experts from Gaza, [Qatar], the UN, and UNRWA; and they would manage Gaza’s energy affairs,” said al-Amadi.

“This is a very serious matter that should help you in Israel as well, since these are your neighbors that are without regular electricity and water flowing to their homes. The Israelis understand this and are helping, but there are other parties that are not” — namely, the PA.

The article also spoke about a pledge of $100 million that Qatar made to rebuild Gaza.

The PA was apparently very upset by this interview.

The official PA news agency, Wafa, published this reaction by Fatah:

The Fatah movement expressed surprise at the behavior of some of the regional parties which insulted the Palestinian National Authority, so as to enhance the authority of the coup in the Gaza Strip at the expense of the legitimate government.

The movement said in a statement on Sunday, we wonder about the words of Ambassador Mohammed Al Emadi to the site Times of Israel, where through this platform he accused the PNA of failing to cooperate in resolving the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip .

The statement added, “We support all aid provided by the brothers in Turkey and Qatar, to alleviate the suffering of our people due to the unjust Israeli  siege, but we reject being charged or fabrications questioning the commitment of the Palestinian National Authority of our  full responsibilities towards our people in the Gaza Strip, and reject the involvement of these parties campaign to justify the continuation of the division.

“Fatah rejects any  attempt to circumvent the Palestinian legitimacy, which was confirmed by Ismail Haniyeh, in comments in which he announced his intention for Qatar to support the coup authority with $100 million.”

Ah — the PA wants the $100 million for itself.