Hazem Balousha

GAZA CITY: Following the May 21 cease-fire between Hamas and Israel that ended the 11-day war, another battle is raging between Gaza’s rulers and the Palestinian Authority (PA) amid disagreements over responsibilities for the besieged enclave’s reconstruction.

Hamas has rejected a committee created by the PA in Ramallah, claiming that it did not consult or coordinate with the competent authorities in Gaza.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since it took control of it by force in mid-2007, called for the formation of an independent professional national commission to oversee funds and aid for the reconstruction process, which the PA rejects.

Naji Sarhan, the undersecretary of Hamas’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza, said the PA deals with the reconstruction issue without a national partnership.

PA spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said that after the 2014 war a committee was formed comprising representatives from the government, Hamas and other Palestinian factions to oversee the reconstruction.

“The government is not in competition with any Palestinian party or faction, and is not interested in excluding anyone, but is rather keen on having unity to deal with all situations,” Melhem said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh has visited several countries, including several Arab states, to discuss Gaza’s reconstruction and, according to Melhem, there is “a consensus among the Arab brothers that the PA is the main address through which reconstruction funds pass.”

However, Sarhan accused the PA of dealing with Gaza arrogantly.

“How does the PA want to supervise the reconstruction and control funds while Shtayyeh made his foreign tour without visiting Gaza and seeing its needs, and without talking to us for the sake of mutual understanding?” he said.

Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ National Relations Office, said the group supports the formation of a national body that represents everyone and includes in its membership professional national figures and will oversee the funds and the reconstruction process.

He believes that the PA’s supervision would “impede work.” He said the experience of the 2014 war was “bitter” and Hamas would not accept a return to the previous mechanism, which was characterized by slowness and a lack of transparency.

The PA agrees with Hamas in rejecting a return to the UN reconstruction mechanism, which was put into operation after the 2014 war and gave Israel a free hand to control it in terms of oversight and limitations on the quantity and quality of construction materials.

Shtayyeh described this mechanism as “sterile and useless,” and said it “is suitable for monitoring a nuclear reactor and is not suitable for monitoring the reconstruction of Gaza.”

Melhem said the government is ready to discuss the most appropriate mechanism for the reconstruction.

According to Sarhan, 1,700 housing units have not been reconstructed since the 2014 war due to this mechanism, which Israel dealt with temperamentally.

At a conference held in Cairo after the 2014 war, donors pledged more than $5 billion, about half of which was allocated to the reconstruction process, and the other half to support the PA’s budget.

According to Sarhan, what reached Gaza from those funds did not exceed $800 million.

Hamas accuses Israel of procrastination and of blackmail attempts aimed at linking the reconstruction to the issue of the prisoner exchange deal.

After the meeting between Hamas chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and the UN envoy Tor Wennesland last Monday, which Sinwar described as very bad, the mutual threats between Hamas and Israel have worsened.

Hamas accused the UN envoy of adopting the Israeli vision in terms of dealing with humanitarian issues in Gaza related to the siege and Israeli restrictions on crossings and reconstruction.

According to sources in the Palestinian factions, Egyptian mediators have been given an opportunity to resolve issues with the new Israeli government, following the failure of Wennesland’s mission.

Hamas strongly refuses to link the humanitarian issues related to the blockade imposed on Gaza for 15 years or the reconstruction, with other topics, the most important of which is the “prisoner exchange deal.”

Hamas insists on having Palestinians released from Israeli prisons in exchange for four Israelis it is holding, including the dead bodies of two soldiers who Israel says were killed during the 2014 war.

Hamas refuses to disclose their fate, in addition to that of two others who entered Gaza earlier in unclear circumstances.

Naim said that “Hamas is open to developing any new mechanisms that would ensure that funds and aid reach those who deserve it in Gaza.”

He warned: “The blockade is a time bomb,” and the countdown has begun, which means the explosion may occur any moment.