Iranian aid for Hamas in the Gaza Strip has declined. Internationalย agencies had estimated Iranian aid at $20 million a month. The decline inย Iranian aid has had a noticeable impact on cultural, sports and social projectsย that Iran used to support with a little bit of competition from Qatar, which hasย become the top aid provider for Hamas. The Qatari grant for the reconstruction ofย Gaza was estimated at $407 million in 2012.
In an interview at his Ministry of Finance office [Juneย 17], Zaza said, โWe do not get any support from any government in the world. Butย we receive support from our friends, our Arab brothers and from the freeย world.โ
In response to whether his government had Iranian friendsย who supported it, he said, โIran is a Muslim sister state like all Arab andย Muslim countries. … There are individuals [who support us] in Iran, like inย all Arab countries and the free world. That kind of support is still ongoing butย it is minor. We are talking anywhere between $5 million to $12 million a month.ย I have been in the government since 2006 and nothing has changed.โ
Culture and Iran
Al-Monitor took a look atย government-sponsored cultural, sports and youth projects in the Gaza Strip.
Mohammad al-Aeraar, international relations official atย the Ministry of Culture, said that the Iranian Ministry of Culture used toย support his ministry by training technical teams in cinema, but all thatย stopped. โThe last time we talked to them on the phone, they said that theย reason [for the stoppage] is the Iranian election and that the support willย resume afterward,โ he said.
He said that the only current Iranian-supported project isย the production of a film titled โ22 Days,โ written by Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar. The film will be shot inย Lebanon and is about the 2008-09 war on Gaza. Aeraar stressed that there is anย ongoing cooperation between the Iranian Ministry of Culture, the government inย Gaza and the Hamas cultural department, which is headed by Zahar. The Hamasย cultural department is producing the film and has begun marketing it.
Al-Monitor obtained a copy ofย the memorandum of understanding between the Iranian Ministry of Culture, theย Palestinian Ministry of Culture in Gaza and the Hamas cultural department. Theย memorandum calls for โcooperation between the two countries to establishย educational camps, conduct youth exchange programs for training, conduct movieย production training rounds in the two countries and perform scientific andย cultural festivals.โ
The memorandum also states: โBoth sides declare theirย readiness to (1) conduct film festivals โ in Tehran and Gaza โ about Palestine,ย Jerusalem and the intifada; (2) establish centers of Iranian studies in Gaza andย centers for Palestinian studies in Iran; (3) establish bilateral relationsย between the film unions in both countries; (4) support Palestinian filmย production, especially about Jerusalem; (5) start working for the establishmentย of forums that spread the resistance culture and delegitimize Israel; (6)ย translate Iranian works into Arabic and Palestinian works into Farsi, andย distribute them; and (7) establish cultural institutions, equip libraries in theย Gaza Strip and establish a cinema complex and a museum to commemorate theย Palestinian resistance.โ
The memorandum, which was signed in September 2012, wasย valid for five years and could be renewed if there are no objections. It couldย be abrogated by a formal request by either party.
Asked whether the memorandum of understanding wasย implemented, Aeraar said that it has been frozen, even though Iran had providedย support for cultural projects in the past. Iran invited Palestinian officials toย participate in a number of film festivals and trained technical personnel. Thisย is what happened for the first Hamas-produced film. The same was being plannedย for another Hamas-produced film about the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Zahar wrote its screenplay.ย Aeraar clarified that some of these activities and projects were supervised byย the Islamic Cultural Center in Gaza.
The memorandum of understanding was signed in Iran in theย presence of Culture, Youth, and Sports Minister Mohammad al-Madhoun and Zahar.ย The latter is close to Iran, where he is nicknamed โthe father of the martyrs.โย Analysts said that the purpose of the visit was conciliatory because the visitย by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in February failed toย repair Hamas-Iranian relations, which deteriorated after Hamas leaders leftย Damascus.
Aeraar saw it likely that the stalled projects would soonย be supported by the Qatari Ministry of Culture, although he was still optimisticย that the Iranians would resume their support now that the presidential electionย is behind them.
Youth and sports
Iranian aid used to be the largest foreign aid for theย Gaza government and affected all areas of daily life for Gaza citizens.
The head of the Palestinian Youth Support Fund, Ahmadย al-Mashhawari, whom Al-Monitor met in his office,ย said that the fund provides loans for young people who want to get married,ย write scientific research, attend graduate school or buy a house. The fund hasย helped more than 900 young people by giving them a loan of $2,000 each. The fundย was established by the Palestinian prime minister in 2007 and has about $1ย million available for eligible applicants.
Mashhawari said that the fund is suffering from a deficitย and a dearth in beneficiaries. He said that the problem may be in the procedureย for receiving the money pledged by some countries such as Iran. So far, the fundย has only received $40,000 from Iran.
The director of the Department of Youth and Sports, Nabilย al-Aawajah, told Al-Monitor that Qatar and Iran areย competing to support the sports sector. Qatar has opened up to Gaza and isย contributing human and material resources. Iran, on the other hand, isย supporting infrastructure and training personnel, as it used to organize scoutย camps in the past. He said that his ministry places no conditions on Qatar orย Iran and pointed out that Turkey also has started supporting projects two yearsย ago.
He added, โQatar is playing a major role in supportingย sports clubs and building the stadium that was destroyed in the recent war;ย Qatar is providing $1 million. Before that, Iran used to be the main supporterย since 2007. But things changed because of the volatility of the politicalย atmosphere.โ
Zaza said that those projects are not that importantย because of the drop in Iranian support, which he insists has become nonexistent.ย He told Al-Monitor that if a country pledges supportย but never delivers, it cannot be counted as support. He said that allย international agencies provide support for infrastructure projects in the Gazaย Strip and the West Bank, but that doesnโt mean that the Palestinians areย controlled by these institutions.
An Iranianย consulate?
During Al-Monitorโs previous meeting with Aeraar at theย Ministry of Culture, he repeatedly suggested that the Islamic Cultural Centerย served as a supervisor of some projects for the Iranian government or stood inย the place of an Iranian consulate. But the centerโs website and offices do notย give the impression that it is a foreign entity. A member of the centerโs boardย of directors, Fayez al-Hussni, asserted to Al-Monitor that portraying the center as an Iranian consulate is inaccurate and aย distortion. He explained that receiving previous Iranian support to conductย projects does not make the center an official Iranian body.
In the past, the center had organized 49 arts and sportsย projects with the Ministry of Education. It also collaborated with the Ministryย of Culture to organize a film festival. He said that that era is over and theย center receives support from many entities.
Asmaa al-Ghoul is a contributing writerย for Al-Monitor’s Palestine Pulse, and a journalistย from the Rafah refugee camp based in Gaza.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/gaza-iran-funds-culture-hamas.html#ixzz2Wk2U7Rvy
