Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied that the Qatari financial assistance offered to Hamas over the years, facilitated by Israel, was the source of the group’s empowerment, claiming on Thursday that the smuggling of arms from Egypt into the Gaza Strip was, in fact, what turned it into a real threat to Israel.

Interviewed by Time magazine, Netanyahu said that Israel’s approval of Qatari cash infusions into the Gaza Strip was humanitarian-driven. “We wanted to make sure that Gaza has a functioning civilian administration to avoid humanitarian collapse,” said the Israeli premier, who added that the Qatari money didn’t form the basis of Hamas’ eventual threat to Israel. Rather, said Netanyahu, “The main issue was the transfer of weapons and ammunition from the Sinai into Gaza.” 

The issue of smuggling tunnels running underneath the Egyptian border with Gaza has long been a source of controversy between Egypt and Israel, with Cairo denying that any such tunnels were operative in recent years. One of the conditions set by Netanyahu for reaching a deal with Hamas is for Israel to keep control over the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the Egyptian border with Gaza, mainly to curb any Hamas use of smuggling tunnels to recuperate more ammunition. Hamas and Egypt have both refused this demand. 

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