THE Palestinian National Authority has announced the details of its ‘national recovery plan’ for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which it has estimated will cost around $4bn.
The announcement of the plan came on the eve of a major international conference planned for Cairo where more than 30 foreign ministers joined to pledge recovery funds for Gaza, which was devastated by a 50-day Israeli offensive over the summer.
The PNA said in a statement that the $4bn was divided into three main requirements: $414m for immediate aid, $1.8bn for the recovery plan, and $2.4bn for rebuilding Gaza and supporting rebuilding projects in the years 2015, 2016, and 2017.
The plan estimates the cost of social protection at $317m, $218m for social and psychological health and support, and $121m for education, in addition to $45m for social and religious institutions and organisations.
The plan includes $1.911bn for the services sector – focused on infrastructure and the environment – and $34m for removing debris and leftover Israeli explosives.
The plan assigns $236m for water, sewage and hygiene, $1.182bn for habitation and homeless families, $185m for the power sector, $55m for crossings, and $71m for the roads and the environment.
The plan also focuses on rehabilitating the Palestinian economy in Gaza, with the agricultural sector estimated to cost $451m, the industrial sector to cost $359m, and $207m for public services and trade.
Over $69m were assigned for employment and $150m to encourage investment.
Around $7m were given for the law and human rights, and $32m for cooperation and implementation.
The plan also includes $183m for the governance sector, $113m for operational capacity of central governance institutions, and $31m for local governance institutions.
Palestinians will be able to begin importing reconstruction material into the Gaza Strip through Israeli-controlled crossings starting this week, Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Husayn al-Shaykh said on Wednesday 8 October.
Al-Shaykh said that Palestinian National Authority crews will begin taking positions at Kerem Shalom and Beit Hanoun crossings as of next week in order to facilitate the transfer of goods.
The announcement comes amid rising uncertainty regarding the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which was devastated by an Israeli offensive over summer that left more than 2,000 dead and more than 110,000 homeless.
Israel has for the last eight years severely restricted all imports and exports, including basic supplies such as concrete, and many have voiced fears that despite Israel’s promises to ‘ease’ the siege in the summer ceasefire, little had changed.
Al-Shaykh’s statement, however, suggests progress in ongoing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, including a demand that Hamas officials be removed from crossings into Israel and be replaced by crews under the command of the Palestinian unity government, who will be expected to ensure no weapons enter Gaza.
Al-Shaykh also said that the social affairs ministry received Israeli approval to allow families of Gazan prisoners to visit them in Israeli jails, and that it is pressuring Israel into creating work permits into Israel for Palestinians from Gaza.
Gazans have been almost completely restricted from entering Israel since the beginning of the siege in 2006, but before that could apply for permits for work or tourism similar to West Bank Palestinians.
Al-Shaykh said that Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah will be accompanied by head of intelligence Majid Faraj and will discuss the reconstruction and the work of Palestinian crews at the borders during an upcoming landmark visit to Gaza.
The statements came after Labour Minister Mamun Abu Shahla said that the unity government meeting in Gaza will focus on uniting services between the West Bank and Gaza after seven years of political division.
He said that the meeting, which is expected to be held Thursday, is a message that the government does indeed exist in Gaza and that it is responsible for rebuilding the strip.
The division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections. In the following year, clashes erupted between Fatah and Hamas, leaving Hamas in control of the strip and Fatah in control of parts of the occupied West Bank.
The groups have made failed attempts at national reconciliation for years, but an April accord raised hopes that Palestinians would be united under one government for the first time in nearly a decade.
Despite numerous obstacles – including two different Israeli military offensives against Hamas over the summer – the government has thus far held strong.
The ‘President of the State of Palestine Mahmud Abbas’ arrived on 11 October in the Arab Republic of Egypt. He is conducting an official visit for two days, during which he will participate in the conference on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
He was accompanied by Nabil Abu-Rudaynah, presidency spokesman; Maj-Gen Majid Faraj, chief of the Palestinian General Intelligence; and Majdi Al-Khalidi, the president’s adviser for diplomatic affairs.
Meanwhile the Palestinian National Authority is set to assume responsibility for the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings in Gaza on Sunday 12 October, Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa said.
Mustafa, who is also head of a reconstruction committee for Gaza, confirmed that the PNA will take charge of building materials entering Gaza and the movement of Palestinians between Gaza and the West Bank.
Representatives in the health, agriculture, housing and civil affairs ministries will be in charge of monitoring materials for their respective sector.
The first step must be for Israel to provide the promised facilitation of construction materials, adding that the process of rebuilding the heavily damaged Gaza Strip depends on the amount of international donor funds.
According to the terms of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, materials entering the Gaza Strip will be checked to ensure no weapons enter the tiny coastal enclave.
Israel has for the last eight years severely restricted all imports and exports, including basic supplies such as concrete.
Gazans have been almost completely restricted from entering Israel since the beginning of the siege in 2006, but before that could apply for permits for work or tourism similar to West Bank Palestinians.
• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged Israel to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians after an international donor conference opened in Cairo on Sunday to raise funds for Gaza.
The Palestinian Authority has asked for $4 billion to reconstruct the Gaza Strip, devastated during a 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in July and August.
Donors are weary of committing large funds in the absence of a permanent peace treaty, with Gaza having undergone three destructive conflicts in six years.
‘I call on the Israeli people and the government: now is the time to end the conflict . . . so that prosperity prevails, so that we all can have peace and security’ Sisi said in his opening remarks.
PA president Mahmud Abbas told the global envoys in attendance that the latest conflict had destroyed government institutions in Gaza.
‘Gaza has suffered three wars in six years. Entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed . . . There is a tangible need for funds to bring back government institutions, because they have all been destroyed,’ Abbas said.
Abbas and Hamas officials in Gaza have agreed on a unity government which convened last week for the first time in the enclave.
Egypt has said the conference will also try to shore up the PA in Gaza, seen as a key condition to allow aid into the Israeli-blockaded territory.
