Qatar sinks into Gaza quagmire

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his diplomacy-defense cabinet on Jan. 25, asking ministers to vote on transferring the third installment of Qatari grant money to the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu did not in fact require the cabinet’s approval to make the transfer, as its members had already voted in October 2018 for the Qatari proposal to fund the pay of Palestinians employed by the Hamas government for six months. The grant was divided into six installments and the cash began to flow, much to the delight of Hamas and the chagrin of Israeli politicians who harshly attacked Netanyahu. In between the second and third installment, early elections were called in Israel and Netanyahu was worried. What would the opposition say, and would members of his ruling coalition accuse him of paying protection money to a terror organization?