The Qatari Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Hospital in Gaza announced recently that it is beginning the process of preparing the headquarters of the Qatari hospital in Gaza City, funded by the Qatar Fund for Development. The move joins a series of Doha-funded projects in the health and education sectors in the Strip. It is interpreted in Gaza as yet another layer in consolidating the institutional infrastructure that the Qataris have been building over the years.
The Qatari pattern of operations relies on specific mandates, primarily in medicine and education, that enable long-term establishment. Alongside budget allocations for hospitals and clinics, Qatari support for educational institutions has been mentioned in the past, including the Islamic University in Gaza.
At the same time, a Qatari effort has been recorded to inject "civilian" money into the Strip - funds perceived as less supervised - through public campaigns. Among other things, a campaign was launched in Qatar by the national taxi service, which commits to transferring five percent of all travel costs to Gaza. (Read More)
