n a surprise move, Hamas announced on Thursday that it has rejected the third payment of the Qatari grant to the Gaza Strip and vowed to continue the weekly protests along the border with Israel.

The announcement came following meetings between Hamas leaders and Qatari envoy Mohammed El-Amadi, who arrived in the Gaza Strip late Wednesday. 

Israel approved the transfer of a third tranche of Qatari funds to Gaza, two days after halting it because of violence along the Israel-Gaza border.A diplomatic official said that the security establishment had recommended that the $15 million be transferred. The money is intended to pay wages for civil servants, and for the purchase of fuel. 

Speaking to reporters in the Gaza Strip, senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haya said that his movement notified the Qatari envoy of its decision not to accept the $15 million grant. Hamas, he said, "will not accept making Gaza exposed to political blackmail in the Israeli elections campaign." 

The Hamas official was referring to the controversy that erupted in Israel over the Qatari financial aid  and the Security Cabinet's approval of the delivery of the money to the Gaza Strip.

"We made it clear to Ambassador El-Amadi that we refuse to accept the third Qatari grant in response to the actions of the occupation and attempts to evade the understandings reached under the auspices of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations," Haya said. 

The weekly demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel border "will continue until our rights are restored and until they achieve their goals," he added. "Gaza, our people and our resistance will not be part of the Israeli elections process."

The Hamas official claimed that the Qatari envoy expressed "understanding" for Hamas's refusal to receive the grant. 

El-Amadi left the Gaza Strip through the Erez border crossing with Israel on Thursday afternoon. It was not clear whether he was planning to return to the Gaza Strip in the coming days.

Hamas has come under criticism from several Palestinians, especially its rivals in Fatah, for accepting the Qatari funds. Hamas's critics have accused it of "trading Palestinian blood for money" and facilitating a US and Israeli "scheme" to establish a separate Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip.

The PLO's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine praised Hamas for turning down the Qatari grant and called it a "step in the right direction." The group said in a statement that it had previously warned Hamas against Israeli attempts to "humiliate" the Palestinians. It called on Palestinians to participate in the weekly demonstrations near the border with Israel on Friday "in order to send a message to the [Israeli] enemy that the Palestinians won't surrender." Read more at JPost