US Envoy: ‘Murderous Hamas Leaders’ Ignore Palestinian Residents of Gaza

“How can the international community help when murderous Hamas leaders continue to squander the resources of Gaza? The people deserve better,” Greenblatt charged. 

By: United with Israel Staff

Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump’s special Mideast envoy, assailed Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, for its refusal to help Palestinian residents while investing all its resources attacking Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Specifically, Greenblatt took aim at Hamas’ “hypocrisy” regarding the welfare of Gaza’s residents.

“Hamas continues to fail the Palestinians of Gaza – arson kites and balloons and many mortar and rocket attacks directed against Israelis,” Greenblatt tweeted on Thursday. “How can the international community help when murderous Hamas leaders continue to squander the resources of Gaza? The people deserve better.”

Israel has repeatedly warned that Hamas is investing heavily in its terror infrastructure rather than in building Gaza, and has exposed several cases in which Hamas has exploited Humanitarian aid and organizations to promote its vast terrorism machine.

The decline in humanitarian welfare in Gaza has been blamed both on Hamas neglecting essential services to advance terror efforts, and to the severe sanctions Palestinian Authority (PA) Head Mahmoud Abbas has imposed on Gaza in his power struggle with Hamas.

In January, Greenblatt pointed out in a tweet that “a terror tunnel costs roughly $5.9 million to build (money that belongs to the people of Gaza).”

“Gaza needs options besides Hamas and its enablers. Time to stop pouring money into violence and hatred, and to start investing in a real future for Palestinians in Gaza,” he tweeted.

Also in January, Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai of the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) blasted Hamas, saying that “instead of investing millions in the fields of education and medicine, they buried it underground, and now all of it has disappeared into oblivion,” referring to Israel’s destruction of Hamas’ terror tunnel infrastructure.

Palestinian ‘Hypocrisy’ on Gaza’s Welfare

Greenblatt also rebuffed accusations by a Palestinian official that US efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza were a ploy to create a divide between Gaza and the PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria.

On Monday, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, an aide to Abbas, warned Arab nations not to cooperate with the US’ efforts to promote investments in Gaza’s economy, which he said was meant to create a divide in Palestinian society.

The Ha’aretz daily reported Sunday that the Trump administration, in an attempt to calm unrest in Gaza and as a prelude to the peace plan it plans to unveil in the near future, is working to convince the Arab kingdoms in the Gulf to invest in economic projects in the Strip.

The US is seeking to convince Arab Gulf states to invest up to $1 billion in Gaza’s economy. The projects include a seaport and a solar energy grid and are planned for the northern Sinai area on Gaza’s southern border.

“Hamas and the PA, who have been fighting one another for over a decade, are each cynically claiming that the US is trying to divide Gaza and [Palestinian-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria], instead of acknowledging that we are trying to help the Palestinians in Gaza.  What hypocrisy,” Greenblatt charged on Twitter.

In December, Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman addressed the residents of Gaza directly, saying, “I suggest you think about your children, their future, and start pressing Hamas leaders to change direction. Right now it’s a flight to nowhere, but if you change the direction, believe me, you’ll build a good future here. For your children, start putting pressure on the Hamas leadership.”

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