Palestinians in Gaza criticize Qatari ruler’s visit

Many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have criticized Qatari ruler’s recent visit to the besieged enclave, saying it would not help end the Israeli blockade

“Economically speaking, I am with this visit to Gaza, because Gaza is in need of infrastructure that they are going to provide us with. But politically speaking, leaving the siege on Gaza is different from rebuilding Gaza and we don’t know [if] there is a hidden agenda behind everything,” a young Gazan told Press TV.

A large number of Gazans think Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s visit to the Palestinian territory on Tuesday disregards the crucial problems the Israeli regime has caused such as power shortage, water problems, freedom of movement for the Gaza residents and lack of safety for the fishermen.

The Qatari ruler was in Gaza to inaugurate a reconstruction project in the besieged territory.
He pledged $400 million for reconstruction projects, such as building housing complexes, and rehabilitating roads in the area.

Al Thani is the first head of state to visit the strip since the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas came to power in Gaza five years ago.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said the visit showed that Gaza was “not alone,” noting that the trip could help break the Tel Aviv regime’s economic and political blockade of Gaza.

Gaza has been suffering from the crippling blockade since 2007, a situation which has faced the densely-populated territory with a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

The Tel Aviv regime denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.