GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Ahmad Rafic did not hesitate to register his name on the list of people applying for work in Qatar, following the Palestinian Ministry of Labor’s announcement that Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah had signed an agreement with the Qatari government allowing 20,000 Palestinians to work there once again. Meanwhile, some youth in Gaza criticized the agreement, saying it was a way to empty Palestine of qualified workers and avoid their demands of improving the Palestinian economy.

Rafic, 30, has been working as a civil engineer for the past 2½ years under fixed-term contracts with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). But UNRWA’s shift toward reducing the scope of its activities in the Gaza Strip for financial reasons has Rafic worried, since it would deprive him of his only reliable employment.

“I may never find another opportunity like this. Jobs are scarce, unemployment rates are high, construction materials are scant and the number of unemployed engineers is greatly increasing in the Gaza Strip. Qatar seemed like a golden opportunity for me. I hope to get a good job offer there,” he told Al-Monitor.

The Ministry of Labor announced on Jan. 14 the signing of an agreement between the Palestinian and Qatari governments for the recruitment of a 20,000 professional and specialized Palestinian labor force to work in Qatar that would be added to the already estimated 20,000 Palestinians who have been working for years in the Gulf state.