Palestinian company Wataniya Mobile said it will launch telecommunications services in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip on Tuesday, offering customers a choice of providers.
Wataniya, which operates in the West Bank and whose largest shareholder is Qatar's Ooredoo telecoms with 48.45 percent, becomes only the second mobile provider to serve Hamas-run Gaza.
The company's chief executive in the Palestinian territories, Dergham Mari, said it would launch in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday "after the company completed the building of its latest communications network".
Wataniya said it had been trying to enter the Gaza market for several years, calling the launch a "real success for the Palestinian economy and the Gaza economy in particular".
"A number of obstacles have prevented the work of Wataniya in Gaza ... including Israel not allowing Palestinian equipment in, as well as Palestinian licenses," a company employee said on condition of anonymity.
"All these obstacles have now been lifted," said the employee, who added the company had around 150 staff in Gaza.