العربي الديمقراطي The Latest From The Arab World
مقالات مشابهة
On Wednesday, the Middle East Quartet of peacemakers joined calls for an expedited start to rebuilding efforts in war-ravaged Gaza before the peace with Israel may end due to renewed violence.
“The precarious situation in Gaza and southern Israel, the danger that violence could flare up again at any point, are precisely the reason to move as quickly as possible on the short-term and long-term recovery efforts”, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the official envoy for the quartet, wrote in remarks his office published before his meeting on international aid to the Palestinians.
He also said that aid to Gaza should go beyond repairing the devastation caused by Israel’s 50-day war with Hamas.
“This is not about putting the pieces back together in Gaza”, Blair wrote in the introduction of his report to be presented in New York on Monday in an Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) session; the committee co-ordinates international donor support for Palestinians.
“This is about making substantive, lasting change, uniting Gaza and the West Bank and opening Gaza back up to the world”, Blair wrote.
His report also calls for West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) and President Mahmud Abbas to lead the way in the reconstruction of Gaza, with the “comprehensive” support of the world.
He also welcomed Tuesday’s announcement that the Palestinians and Israelis had accepted an UN-mediated deal on delivering construction material to the Gaza Strip that would make sure that the aid will not be diverted by the Hamas.
The 50-day Israeli war in Gaza killed over 2,100 Palestinians, with over a 100,000 people rendered homeless by the war, according to UN statistics.
The cost for the full reconstruction of property destroyed in the war is estimated to be around $7.8 billion, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction said.