Israel and Hamas have no desire to go to war despite an uptick in violence, the Qatari envoy who helped mediate a truce between the sides along the volatile Gaza Strip border, said on Saturday.
"Both sides are committed [to the truce] and they have no war intentions at all," Mohammed Al-Emadi told Reuters on a visit to Gaza after a series of border riots, during which at least eight Palestinian terrorists who tried to infiltrate Israeli territory were killed by IDF forces.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a Sept. 17 election, has been accused in recent weeks by his rivals of not doing enough to tackle Hamas.
In two days of heavy fighting in early May, terrorists in Gaza fired dozens of rockets into Israel, killing four civilians, and drawing a wave of Israeli airstrikes.
A ceasefire mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations ended that round of violence.
Israel pulled its troops and settlers from the coastal enclave in 2005 but keeps the territory under a naval blockade, citing security concerns.
Israel and Egypt, which also share a border with Gaza, both keep tight control of their land crossings with the strip.
Some two million Palestinians live in Gaza. The Israeli-Egyptian blockade has brought the Gazan economy to the brink of collapse. Recent foreign aid cuts and sanctions by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas' rival in the West Bank, have worsened the situation.
"Both sides have no war intentions but there is a lack of money and the humanitarian situation is bad. Should people feel financially at ease, the ghost of war will be totally removed," said Al-Emadi.
Qatar has in recent years funneled more than $1 billion into relief projects in Gaza, where poverty and unemployment rates are high. Al-Emadi said that Israel consented to his country's relief work in Gaza.
In June, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said a new hospital, industrial zones and a new power line would be built in Gaza as part of a wide truce agreement with Israel.
The deal, brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations, has not been publicly acknowledged by Israel, which deems as Hamas a terrorist organization and shuns direct negotiations. Al-Emadi said the hospital's construction could begin soon.
