Brussels, 13/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - During the “Conference of Palestine and Reconstruction in the Gaza Strip” on 12 October in Cairo (Egypt) the European Union promised €468 million to fund reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. The member states have also subsequently promised €193 million. EU funding stands at €275 million, of which €160 million comes from new funds and €150 million from funds that have already been earmarked (€95 million has already been earmarked for financial support and UNRWA and €20 million for programmes that will soon be beginning in Gaza).
In total, the different countries meeting in Cairo made a commitment to provide more than €4.3 billion to help the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated over 50 days of war last summer. Qatar has promised €800 million and the US is committed to providing €315 million. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, said that they would need €3.15 billion to reconstruct the Gaza Strip.
Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon exclaimed, “as Secretary General, I am very angry… in 2009, the international community met up (for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, Ed). We are here again… the cycle of construction-destruction continues and gets worse”. After the conflict in the Gaza Strip in 2009, the EU made a commitment to support the Palestinians with funding of up to €436 million. In the end, it provided almost €525 million. The EU is the biggest donor of aid to Palestine. Over the past 10 years, the EU has spent €1.3 billion in the Gaza Strip.
In exchange for their financial aid, donor countries have called for negotiations to resume. Catherine Ashton, the High Representative, said, “the only sustainable solution to the situation in the Gaza Strip that is in the interest of everybody, is a political solution. Our efforts for Gaza will only be successful if they are placed in the context of our broader support for Palestine and our commitment to the peace process”. The Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, was not invited to the conference and did not appear to be particularly in favour of relaunching negotiations. He underlined that they needed to know what the framework for these negotiations would be and on what points they would focus on.
In a press release, the EU reaffirmed its determination to pursue and step up efforts to strengthen the capacity of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip and support an effective and safe lifting of the blockade through ensuring its presence at the different passage points in the Gaza Strip. The EU is also prepared to examine ways of supporting the setting up of a terrestrial connection that would consolidate political and economic ties in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. According to the press release, the EU is also currently analysing the feasibility of a maritime link that would open up the Gaza Strip to Europe and allow this territory to fully use its socio-economic potential. (CG)