Palestinians in the Gaza Strip immediately reacted to the Arab nations’ announcement June 5 of severing ties with Qatar over its alleged support for terrorism. Some backed the decision of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain, while others opposed it given Qatar’s position and role in the Palestinian scene.

Mohammed al-Sinwar, a citizen from Khan Yunis, told Al-Monitor that the decision came after US President Donald Trump described Hamas as a terror group during the Arab-Islamic-American summit in Riyadh May 21.

He said, “Following these remarks, the four Arab nations sought to make it look like Qatar is the main backer of the Hamas movement, especially since the latter’s leadership is based in Doha. So these countries decided to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar to pressure it to expel Hamas leaders. It seems these attempts will succeed, and Qatar would be forced to expel Khaled Meshaal, the former head of Hamas’ political bureau, and the other Hamas leaders. If such scenario unfolds, Hamas would lose its main financial source of money that it uses in the Gaza Strip.”

Mohammed Zoorab, another citizen from the city of Khan Yunis, told Al-Monitor that the decision to cut ties with Qatar represents a pressure card on Hamas. He expects the humanitarian situation to worsen in Gaza in the coming days.