Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen told the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) that the Israeli government has approached the Qatari government about an initiative to fund civilian life in the Gaza Strip, an initiative officially approved by the State of Israel. He said it was a thing.
This policy included funding for health, education, and other aspects of civilian life in the Gaza Strip.
When asked about the initiative and whether it was implemented to prevent conflict or even an “explosion” from Gaza aimed at Israel, Cohen told MEMRI: “Absolutely.”
The idea behind the policy, Cohen said, was to ensure that Israel did not leave the Gaza Strip and its residents unchecked “from a financial standpoint.”
Cohen said much of the power is in Israel's hands, saying, “If we wanted to stop the civilian economy in the Gaza Strip, we would have to do border checks, as we have done in all the violence between us and them. They could have shut down the place.”
He pointed to and elaborated on Israel's policy of employing thousands of Gazan workers in Israel, all done to “sustain the economy of the Gaza Strip.” .
In an interview with MEMRI, it was reported that Cohen, while commander of the IDF Southern Command, flew to Qatar with IDF Chief of Staff Helj Halevi to negotiate remittances to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Cohen said the policy was the result of the state's national strategy and was secret until, as Cohen claimed, “we were exposed in the media on this issue.”
Financing life in Gaza gave Palestinians something to lose
The rationale, Cohen said, is to ensure decent civilian and economic life in the Gaza Strip and prevent future escalation with Hamas. “Wherever people live under oppression and poverty, we say, 'Let's promote their welfare so that they have nothing to lose,'” he said.
The main criticism of the plan is that Hamas could divert these funds from civilians and use them to build tunnels and weapons and train terrorists, all of which culminated in the deadly October 7 attack. It was said that he had done so.
Cohen responded to the criticism by saying he always thought the plan to negotiate funding for Hamas through Qatar was a mistake.
