WITH support from Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, the United Nations Development Programme and the Arab International Organisation for Reconstruction in Palestine yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work in Gaza.
The agreement was signed at the prime minister’s office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, and is worth $80m during its first stage.
This intervention is the first of its kind since the Gaza ceasefire, which said the aim is to limit damage and remove rubble in vital areas, deal with unexploded ordnance and establish a number of temporary shelter centres that could offer some basic services.
Mustafa said the MoU will ‘enhance the government’s efforts to work on the ground to respond to emergency needs’ and provide relief to Palestinians.
‘The Palestinian government has developed a programme for the first six months to address the situation on the ground, as well as a three-year plan to move from relief to economic recovery and early recovery, and then to full reconstruction over 10 years as part of a programme developed in coordination with the World Bank, the European Union, and the United Nations.’
The destruction of water facilities, roads and other vital infrastructure by the Israeli military means many Palestinians have to carry their limited water supplies by hand over long distances.
The worsening weather conditions in Gaza are increasing the misery and tragedy of the Palestinians across the Strip.
Hamas political bureau member Ezzat al-Resheq condemned US president Trump’s remarks about ‘buying and owning Gaza,’ calling them ‘frivolous’.
He said: ‘Such remarks reflect deep ignorance of Palestine and the region. Gaza is not real estate that can be bought or sold. It is an integral part of our occupied Palestinian land.
‘Dealing with the Palestinian cause with the mentality of a real estate businessman is a recipe for failure. Gaza belongs to its people, and they will not leave it except when they return to their cities and villages that came under occupation in 1948.’
Speaking to reporters on board a presidential plane on Sunday, Trump said he is committed to ‘buying and owning’ Gaza, and it should be thought of as a ‘big real estate site.
‘As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it; other people may do it, through our auspices,’ Trump said.
‘But we are committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas does not move back. There is nothing to move back into. The place is a demolition site.’
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