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As reconstruction nears, Gaza fears donors gained’t ship on guarantees

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Ministry of Public Works and Housing within the Gaza Strip introduced Sept. 17 that the reconstruction process would kick off in early October.

The announcement got here amid issues that some donor international locations wouldn’t ship on their guarantees, as occurred in earlier wars.

In accordance with the ministry, 1,500 housing units in Gaza have been completely destroyed in the course of the preventing in Might and 800 have been severely broken. One other 56,000 have been reasonably or barely broken.

Naji Sarhan, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza, instructed Al-Monitor that Qatar will fund the rebuilding of practically 1,000 of the utterly destroyed houses.

He famous that the ministry has offered the names of the homeowners of those homes to the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, which pays the homeowners immediately.

Qatar has pledged to pay $500 million for the reconstruction course of,” he added.

The Gaza Municipality stated in a Sept. 18 press launch that the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza knowledgeable the municipality that it’s postponing infrastructure reconstruction projects till the start of subsequent yr, warning of floods in lowland areas and outlets in the course of the upcoming winter season. 

The current escalation in Gaza brought on massive damage to its infrastructure, resembling water therapy vegetation and water and energy strains.

The pinnacle of the Gaza Municipality Media Division, Hosni Muhanna, instructed Al-Monitor, “Because the finish of the current escalation in Gaza, the municipality has warned of the environmental penalties of delaying the restoration of the Gaza infrastructure, which is why it has rushed to submit restoration tasks to a number of events.”

He stated the municipality had acquired guarantees from Qatar, the Islamic Improvement Financial institution and USAID to offer monetary grants for these tasks. He warned of an environmental catastrophe that might negatively have an effect on the lives of residents and create environmental and well being issues as winter attracts close to.

“We concern the collapse of streets, roads, water strains and sewage networks,” he added.

Muhanna identified that the municipality has completed every part doable to handle upkeep wants on roads in order that residents can transfer round. He careworn that the reconstruction of housing should be coupled with the restoration of the infrastructure to be able to stop disasters in the course of the winter. 

Sarhan stated that Qatar didn’t abandon its plans to revive the infrastructure, however as a substitute it seeks to hold out the reconstruction of houses and infrastructure individually.

He added, “We [at the Ministry of Housing] submit our reconstruction plan to the funding international locations, however we can’t power them to abide by it, as every nation has its personal coverage and pursuits. … On the finish of the day, the choice is theirs.”

Sarhan added that Egypt is specializing in a street alongside the seashore within the northern Gaza Strip, to be adopted by a undertaking to construct residential items.

In Might, Egypt introduced that it could present $500 million for the reconstruction course of.

Sarhan stated the ministry has solely acquired obscure guarantees from a number of donor international locations, together with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and it’s now ready for these international locations to announce the quantity to be donated.

Sarhan famous that the cost of rebuilding the Gaza Strip after the most recent preventing is estimated at $479 million, whereas the price of rebuilding the damages of earlier wars quantity to $600 million.

He indicated that the international locations that took half within the Cairo International Conference on the Reconstruction of Gaza, which was held after the top of the warfare in 2014, pledged to offer $5.4 billion to the Palestinians, however solely $800 million was acquired, as tons of of housing items and towers that have been bombed within the 2014 warfare stay destroyed.

He stated that the international locations that didn’t fulfill their pledges again embody Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Germany, the international locations that pledged the most important share of donations.

Sarhan expressed the ministry’s issues that the Gaza reconstruction can be hindered by the political division and variations between Hamas, which controls Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority,​which isn’t targeted on reconstruction efforts.

“The donor international locations should abide by their guarantees to ensure that the state of calm to stay in Gaza,” he added.

Hussam al-Dajni, a professor of political science at Al-Ummah College in Gaza, instructed Al-Monitor that Palestinian issues over the failure of the reconstruction course of in Gaza are as a result of lack of dedication of donor international locations to offer the funds they promised on the 2014 Cairo convention.

He stated the present Israeli authorities can be impeding the method and looking for to tighten the siege, including that the Gaza Strip is ready to see whether or not the worldwide neighborhood will strain Israel to permit the reconstruction course of to start, as a disaster in Gaza will immediately have an effect on Israel.

Dajni believes that the donor international locations’ argument that they’ve issues about distributing cash amid the battle is illogical. He known as on these international locations to power Israel to implement worldwide resolutions, whereas refraining from attacking the Palestinians.

“How can a long-term truce be carried out when the Israeli occupation oppresses the Palestinians in every single place and rejects the institution of a Palestinian state alongside the 1967 border?” he requested.

Dajni attributed Qatar’s postponement of the infrastructure reconstruction undertaking to political, not financial, causes. He stated that Qatar might concern being categorised as a supporter of terrorism if it acts with out prior US approval.

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