JERUSALEM: The Palestinian government yesterday in a reconstruction plan for Gaza ahead of an October 12 donor conference called for $4bn to rebuild the war-battered territory. Gaza’s infrastructure was devastated during a 50-day Israeli military operation which killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, while attacks by Gaza militants killed 73 on the Israeli side.
The 76-page report, released ahead of the donor conference in Cairo, said $4bn would be needed for the “direct costs” of rebuilding the besieged coastal territory.
It would include $1.9bn for public and private infrastructure repairs, and $1.2bn for “reactivating economic productivity”, according to The National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza.
The government’s priority would be “removal of rubble and removal of ERWs”, or unexploded shells and missiles from the war, which it estimated to number 5,000 inside Gaza. It would then repair Gaza’s power station, which was struck during the conflict, and work on access to drinking water, healthcare and education.
The “largest expenditure” would be on housing, it said. More than 100,000 Gazans are homeless after the conflict, which ended August 26. The report also urged Israel to lift its blockade on Gaza, which has been in place since 2006.
“Free movement of people and goods will catalyse Gaza, catapulting it from its current crisis into socio-economic sustainability. Freedom of access must be guaranteed. The borders must be opened. Trade must flow. People must travel,” it said. The International Monetary Fund has called for curbs on the movement of goods and people to be relaxed to enable Gaza’s economic recovery, and the World Bank has warned of a resumption of violence should the economy fail to improve.AFP
