Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday told delegates gathered for an international donors' conference aimed at reconstructing the war-torn Gaza Strip that a cease-fire deal between Israel and the Palestinians was of utmost importance.
In his opening address to a gathering of high-profile world figures on Monday morning, Mubarak said that the goal of the gathering was to help the two sides reach a truce. With heavyweight donors in attendance such as the European Union, Saudi Arabia and the United States, the head of the Palestinian care-taker government Prime Minister Salam Fayad is expected to receive nearly all of the approximately $2.8 billion he is requesting to rebuild Gaza and support the PA's 2009 budget.
The presidents of France and the Palestinian Authority were in attendance at the conference, along with 45 foreign ministers including high-profile Hillary Rodham Clinton, who arrived Sunday in the Red Sea resort for her first trip to the Middle East as U.S. secretary of state.
The Islamic resistance Hamas group, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, has not been invited to the conference.
The real challenge behind "The Palestinian National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza, 2009-2010" is the competition between the two rival Palestinian governments, the PA in Ramallah and Hamas in Gaza, over who gets the credit of rebuilding Gaza after “Operation Cast Lead”.
Hamas has announced in the media that it has already evaluated the damage in the Strip and formulated a recovery plan using its own sources of funding. Meanwhile, the PA is attempting to implement its plan although its institutions have not operated in Gaza for nearly two years. The PA intends to implement its program through various subcontractors - United Nations agencies.
According to the Palestinian constitution, President Mahmoud Abbas ended his term on January 9 and accordingly the current government is a care-taker government thus it has no authority to implement the recovery plan in the Strip.
The Authority's recovery plan is based on the assessments of various UN organizations, the World Bank, academics and international and Palestinian non-governmental groups. The 53-page document is written in English and will be presented today to international donors at the "Conference in Support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza" in Egypt.
Fayyad and the other authors used harsh language in describing the Israeli attacks and policies in Gaza, calling them "horrendous, merciless, the worst assaults since they were forced from their homes over 60 years ago."
In addition, the document states that without opening the entire crossing points, the plan had no chance of success. "What is the value of all of these millions of dollars if Israel is not allowing in a single material needed for construction, like cement, glass, metal, or tubes?" said Mustafa Barghouthi, a Palestinian MP representing the Palestinian National Initiative faction. "The Israeli siege and closure on Gaza will prevent any reconstruction unless it is removed," he said.
The international community, particularly the US and the EU, he added, should demand that Israel lift its blockade immediately, demand guarantees from Israel "that they won't destroy what is going to be rebuilt again" and demand it pay for damage caused to civilian infrastructure.
European officials also expressed concern about the blockade. "I think everyone is gravely concerned about the access of goods and materials into Gaza for reconstruction," said Roy Dickinson, head of operations of the European Commission office in occupied Jerusalem. The commission, along with the United Nations, the US and others, is a co-sponsor of the conference. "I think everybody in Sharm e-Sheikh will be unanimous that the opening of the crossings is key and is almost the only issue at the moment."
"We have almost endless money. Money is not the problem. The only question is then can this aid reach the people of Gaza?" said Dickinson. In addition, banks in Gaza were severely cash-strapped due to Israeli restrictions on money transfers from banks in occupied Ramallah to the Gaza Strip, he added.
The authors of the document also expressed the hope that the political division between Hamas and the PA would end and promised to work toward reconciliation and a unity government. However, the document does not discuss the roots of the division.
The Gaza recovery and reconstruction plan opens by alluding to the damage “Operation Cast Lead” wrought on society: The high number of casualties, 1,314 killed and about 5,000 injured, along with 1,900 disabled needing rehabilitation and 100,000 homeless.
The document describes at length the psychological suffering of all Gaza residents. Almost a quarter of the entire sum requested for rehabilitation, $315 million, is slated for social causes: education, health and nutrition, and reconstruction of religious and cultural institutions. The Social Protection, Safety Nets and Psychosocial Wellbeing budget accounts for $202 million of the requested sum, which will go toward projects promoting social welfare and mental health for orphans, traumatized children, the disabled and others.
Other sums requested include about half a billion dollars for infrastructure rehabilitation, $412 million to rebuild agricultural and industrial sectors and $26 million for environmental resources.
The report's harsh findings include: "Feelings of insecurity and hopelessness are common ... (women) describe increased fear, sadness and crying, and over-reaction to ordinary daily stress in the household ... in children, anxiety is exhibited through symptoms such as nightmares, lack of concentration, withdrawal and the need to cling to caregivers. In adults, surveys reveal that distress is displayed in symptoms such as depression, withdrawal and loss of confidence in a previously secure role as head of household..."
The document discusses at length women's vulnerability in society and the possible danger of violence against women as a way of relieving social pressures. This section contains underlying criticism of Hamas - which is not explicitly mentioned in the document. The harsh description of the psychological situation of most Gaza residents is based on the reports of UN agencies and non-governmental groups, and contradicts the image Hamas wants to present of a strong, undefeated public that is proud of its steadfastness.
The section dealing with rehabilitating government institutions claims that during the three weeks of the attack there was "a marked deterioration in security and social cohesion, as well as a breakdown in channels for public decision making, protection and human rights."
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