The US will cut $100 million in American aid money to Palestinians in Gaza if the territory’s Hamas rulers continue with “unwarranted audits” of local American non-profit organisations, a UD State Department official said on August 12. The American threat came in response to a growing attempt by Hamas to exert control over the international organisations that support the many impoverished Palestinians among Gaza’s population of 1.5 million people. This week, Hamas shut down the US-financed International Medical Corps after it refused to submit to a Hamas audit. The State Department informed Hamas on August 11 that aid worth $100 million would be halted if the International Medical Corps were not allowed to operate freely.
Hamas has told non-profit groups that they must be registered with the Gaza government and provide financial records. Mohammed Awad, the Hamas minister of planning in Gaza, said the organisations had agreed to have their accounts vetted through a Hamas-appointed accountant. “We are not saying there is corruption in these organisations but we are trying to put things in order and to ensure that these organisations are providing services to citizens,” he said. “These organisations entered this land on this basis.”