{UAH} $5.4B Pledged Toward Gaza Rebuilding
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$5.4B Pledged Toward Gaza Rebuilding
Last updated on: October 12, 2014 2:33 PM
Countries from around the world have pledged $5.4 billion to help rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave along the Mediterranean.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende announced the total Sunday at the close of a 30-nation donor conference in Cairo.
Earlier, Brende had said there were many legitimate questions about "why donor countries should once again pick up the bill for rebuilding what warring parties have torn down" at a time when there was no agreement on a lasting cease-fire or sound political framework.
A Palestinian woman walks with her daughter as the remains of a house that witnesses said was destroyed during the 50-day war between the Hamas militant movement and Israel, in the east of Gaza City, Oct. 12, 2014."The people of Gaza can not be held hostage to negotiations that may or may not produce the desired outcome. Letting Gaza fester while leaving the parties to their own devices is the surest way of setting ourselves up for another round of war a year or two down the road," he said.
Exceeds request
The figure easily exceeds the $4 billion Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said would be necessary to restore large portions of the territory that were destroyed during the 50-day war between Hamas militants and Israel in July and August.
Among the biggest donors was Qatar, the Persian Gulf state with natural gas riches, which pledged $1 billion.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced an immediate American donation of $212 million, which is in addition to $202 million in humanitarian aid the U.S. had already committed.
The 28-nation European Union pledged $568 million, while the United Arab Emirates and Turkey both said they would donate $200 million.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the world community has "clearly recognized the massive needs" in Gaza.
But he said this "must be the last Gaza reconstruction conference." He said the "cycle of building and destroying must end. Enough is enough."
Kerry, the top U.S. diplomat, and other envoys called for renewed negotiations to end the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He said both sides need to make "tough choices" in order to reach a lasting peace agreement.
"There is nothing sustainable about the status quo. In the end, the underlying causes of discontent and suspicion and anger that exist in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza can only be eliminated by resolving the conflict itself," he said.
Restart talks
Abbas called for an immediate start to talks on a "fair and comprehensive" two-state solution that respects the sovereignty, independence, and dignity of the Palestinian people, repeating calls for an investigation into Israeli military action against civilian targets.
"The Israeli offensive and the consequential destruction of Gaza can not be tolerated and it can not go away without any accountability," Abbas said.
He also highlighted the extent of the Gaza damage and need for aid, saying entire neighborhoods were destroyed during the fighting.
The clashes left more than 2,100 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians, along with 67 Israeli soldiers and six civilians.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi urged Israel to launch new peace efforts based on a 2002 proposal that would include Israel WITHDRAWING
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