Washington: When a controversial new aid programme for Gaza was to start on Monday, the head of the group that was to monitor the programme resigned. Jake Wood, the executive director of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, quit hours before the programme was to start, saying that he wasn’t able to perform his duty independently, the New York Times reported.
The development comes after news reports appeared in several frontline news houses questioning the monitoring group’s independence as well as its connections with Israel.
Wood said in a statement distributed by the foundation that it is clear that it is not possible to implement that plan while strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which he will not abandon.
There has been growing displeasure within the traditional aid sector over Israel’s efforts to replace the current aid system in war-torn Gaza with one overseen by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This group is new and untested and was founded late last year.
The foundation has hired private contractors, including one run by a former CIA officer, to secure and distribute food from four sites in areas of southern Gaza under Israeli military’s control, and one such site was expected to open on Monday, it was learned.
The project’s supporters claim that it will enable Palestinian civilians to access food while preventing Hamas from stealing, stockpiling, and even selling it at elevated prices. However, those against the project, including the United Nations, argue that it is a dangerous plan since it would force civilians to walk miles through Israeli military lines to find food. It could also be an Israeli ploy to displace people from northern Gaza to the south.