Despite its diplomatic crisis with several Gulf and Arab countries, Qatar on Tuesday signed an agreement with Gaza construction companies to build more housing units in the Gaza Strip.
"The 5.5-million-dollar agreement is devoted to the construction of eight buildings," Qatari ambassador Mohamed Ammadi, chairman of the Gaza-based Qatari Reconstruction Committee, told reporters in Gaza.
The press briefing in Gaza City was also attended by Nikolay Mladenov, the UN special envoy to Middle East.
"In spite of the imposed embargo on Qatar, we will carry on and continue standing on the side of the besieged Palestinians," said Ammadi.
Ammadi arrived in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. He held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the Fatah party, in Ramallah on Monday and returned back on Tuesday to sign the agreement on the construction of the housing units in the coastal enclave.
Asked about his country's support to the Islamist Hamas movement, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, Ammadi said: "Qatar deals with all the Palestinians, including Fatah and Hamas."
Qatar's support for groups like the Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is at the centre of the diplomatic crisis, with countries like Saudi Arabia demanding the sympathies come to an end.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties and transportation links with Qatar. The Arab quartet threatened to impose further sanctions on Qatar after a list of 13 demands was rejected by Doha.
The demands included downgrading ties with Iran, a regional rival of Saudi Arabia; the cessation of support for Islamist groups; and the closure of Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera.
By Saud Abu Ramadan
