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Qatar's Emir to visit Gaza, first by an Arab leader since 2007
Monday October 22, 2012 11:14:54 PM,
IANS
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Gaza:
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his wife
Princess Moza are scheduled to arrive in the Gaza Strip Tuesday,
the first official visit of an Arab leader to the coastal enclave
since Hamas seized control of it in 2007, reported Xinhua.
Hamas officials said they had finalized all preparations for the
historic visit, and its security forces have been deployed in
various areas, mainly in the sites where the Emir is scheduled to
visit.
Gaza city was decked out with Qatari flags and banners to welcome
the Emir and thank Qatar for its political and financial support
to the impoverished Strip.
The Qatari-financed construction projects in the Gaza Strip are
the first-ever Arab effort to reconstruct the enclave since the
end of the Israeli operation Cast Lead in early 2009, which
largely destroyed its infrastructure and more than 50,000 housing
units.
Hamas Deputy Prime Minister Zeyad Zaza told Xinhua that the Qatari
Emir and his wife will be officially received by Hamas Prime
Minister Ismail Haniyeh at Rafah border crossing between the Gaza
Strip and Egypt.
"The visit of Sheikh Hamad, his wife and the official delegation
he is heading, to the Gaza Strip will last for several hours,"
said Zaza.
The Qatari grant for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip is $254
million, devoted to building up a housing project in the southern
town of Khan Younis, to pave the major Salah Al Din road, and to
set up a hospital for treating handicapped people.
The Emir and his wife will be present at the inaugural ceremonies
of the three projects, Zaza said, adding the Emir will also visit
Hamas government's headquarters to hold talks with Haniyeh and
other ministers. In the afternoon he will go to Palestine Football
Stadium for a welcome ceremony by the people.
In a press statement emailed to Xinhua, Haniyeh said that his
government "is welcoming the visit of Sheikh Hamad to the Gaza
Strip on Tuesday," adding that "this visit has many important
implications and expresses the great Qatari support to the
Palestinian people."
Meanwhile, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Xinhua
that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) had been informed 10
days ago about the visit of the Emir to the Gaza Strip, adding
that the PNA had welcomed the visit that would contribute to
reconstructing the Gaza Strip.
"We hope that the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad will exert more
efforts to convince Hamas movement to implement the reconciliation
agreement signed in Doha between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas
chief Khaled Meshaal on forming a unity government and hold the
elections," said Erekat.
Despite signing the agreement, disputes between Hamas and
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party on implementing
the agreement dragged on.
Among the people in the coastal enclave, some support the visit of
the Qatari Emir and hope it will contribute to ending the ongoing
Israeli blockade, which had been imposed on the territory since
2007.
Others say that the visit is a first official Arab recognition of
Hamas as a rule that controls the enclave. They expressed concerns
that the visit may encourage Hamas to declare the Gaza Strip an
independent territory isolated from the West Bank.
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