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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday defended his decision to allow Qatar to pay the salaries of thousands of civil servants in Gaza, "as an appropriate measure" to prevent the humanitarian collapse of the Palestinian enclave.
Addressing reporters as he traveled to Paris to join the commemorations of the First World War alongside other world leaders, Mr. Netanyahu also said that a parallel meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was "in abeyance" and away from the police recommendations against the former confidants involved in the negotiations for the purchase of new submarines from the German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp.
Netanyahu said the agreement with Qatar, implemented on Friday, was supported by both the military and its high-level political security cabinet.
"We had serious discussions. It's an alternative question, "he said of the deal. "These things have been done, under certain conditions, to prevent a humanitarian crisis."
Tens of thousands of Hamas officials have seen sporadic payments of salaries since 2014, as the Palestinian Authority refused to add about 40,000 employees to the public sector of Hamas after the Islamists took control of the Gaza Strip in a quasi-civil war in 2007.
Palestinian officials formed long lines in Gaza on Friday to receive Qatar-funded salaries as part of efforts to ease tensions in and around the impoverished territory.
A total of $ 90 million is to be divided into six monthly installments of $ 15 million, according to the authorities, mainly to cover the salaries of officials working for Hamas, the Islamist movement that governs the Palestinian enclave.
Qatar also announced that it would give $ 100 to each of the 50,000 poor families, as well as larger sums to Palestinians wounded in clashes along the Gaza-Israel border.
Netanyahu said he would do "all I can" to keep Israelis living in communities adjacent to the unstable border with Gaza safe while fighting to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip – which according to experts, would only exacerbate tensions. .
"Without exception, every step comes at a price," Netanyahu said, "When you take leadership action, if you can not bear the price, you can not lead, and I know how to support the prize."
Netanyahu's remarks come as he faces critics of opposition leaders as members of his own Likud party find it difficult to agree on a policy on Gaza.
– Underwater claims – do not hold water –
Netanyahu is also criticized for a series of allegations of fraud and indictments related to family members and close associates.
On Thursday, Israeli police said at the conclusion of a lengthy investigation into the "submarine case" that there was sufficient evidence to indict David Shimron, a relative of Netanyahu and his family lawyer, bribery offenses and money laundering.
"I did not know his involvement," Netanyahu told the press on Saturday. "As you know, there is not a single claim against me, yet they do not hesitate to accuse me of the most absurd claims that do not hold water."
The police did not state that Netanyahu is suspected of wrongdoing in this case, also known as "Case 3,000", in order to distinguish it from the many other corrupt polls surrounding the Prime Minister or his collaborators.
He was however questioned about the case as part of the investigation.
See also:
The Netanyahu case & # 39; submarine case & # 39; ride to Tel Aviv
