On Sunday, the Qatari Committee for Gaza Reconstruction signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with multiple Palestinian entities to provide much-needed fuel to the besieged Gaza Strip.
The deal was signed between the Qatari side and the Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority, and the Gaza Power Generating Company (GPGC), according to the committee’s statement.
The deal centered on systems for providing the Palestinian enclave with gas and acquiring the required fuel to operate its single power plant, according to Ambassador Mohammed Al Emadi of Qatar’s Gaza Reconstruction Committee.
“Under the memorandum of understanding, the Qatari committee will finance the construction of the gas pipeline from the supplier company to the borders of the Gaza Strip at an estimated cost of $60 million,” the statement added.
In addition, the Qatari ambassador emphasized that all parties will switch to gas fuel as an alternative to liquid fuel.
The Qatari committee offered $60 million in February this year to fund a project aimed at supplying Gaza with gas to assist ease the country’s chronic electrical problem by transporting gas from Israeli-controlled Palestine.
The deal intends to boost the power plant’s output capacity to at least 500 megawatts in order to meet the city’s electrical needs.
For the first time since the May ceasefire, Qatar-funded fuel reached Gaza in June to operate the city’s energy facility. The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and Doha agreed to the terms as part of a UN framework.
However, just a few months later, in November, the Palestinian energy ministry announced that Qatari fuel deliveries had ceased, putting Gaza in danger of even more power outages. The standstill was caused by Israeli restrictions on Qatari fuel entering the Gaza Strip.
