Hạ Long -

Vietnam Travel

- Halong Cruises - Travel Company In Vietnam - Vietnam Travel Agency - Ẩm thực - Vietnam Tourism -

Travel To Vietnam

- Hotel in halong

Int’l donors pledge $4.5 bln for Gaza reconstruction

Published: 02/03/2009 05:00

0

132 views

International donors held a conference in support of the Palestinian economy for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip here on Monday, during which they pledged a total of 4.481 billion U.S. dollars of donation.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) shakes hands with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana during the international donors’ conference to plan the reconstruction of the Palestinian Gaza Strip, in Sharm El-Sheikh of Egypt, March 2, 2009. Officials and representatives from more than 70 countries and some 15 organizations attended the conference kicked off Monday morning. (Xinhua/Zhang Ning)

In addition to previous pledges, Abul Gheit said, the total sum of international donations reached 5.2 billion dollars, which has exceeded the Palestinian request of amount.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) requested 2.8 billion dollars for Gaza reconstruction and Palestinian economic recovery, according to an official report by acting Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Senior officials and representatives from over 70 countries and 15 international organizations attended the conference to plan the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave.

UN Secratary-General Ban Ki-moon, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, among other officials and delegates, attended the meeting opened by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The Israeli attacks against Gaza that ended on Jan. 18, had killed more than 1,300 Palestinians and wounded 5,500 others. According to UN reports, the attacks also destroyed more than 14,000 homes, 68 government buildings and 31 offices of nongovernmental organizations.

HAMAS GETS NOTHING

The PNA in the West Bank and the Hamas-run government in Gaza have each insisted on leading the rebuilding effort, but Western countries, which consider Hamas as a terror group, have said they can only work with Abbas.

Hillary Clinton has pledged at the conference that the United States will donate 900 million dollars for the Palestinians to shore up the PNA and help rebuild Gaza, but stressed that no funds will go to Hamas.

Among the total U.S. funding, only a third, or 300 million dollars, is earmarked for the reconstruction of Gaza, which will be channelled via the United Nations and other organizations, U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said earlier, while stressing that “Hamas is not getting any of this money.”

Some 200 million dollars will be provided to help cover the PNA budget shortfalls and another 400 million dollars is offered to assist Palestinian economic and institutional reforms, according to the spokesman.

Abbas also said last Saturday that the international aid has to go through the PNA in coordination with international organizations.

“We expect quick international aid from all parties to completely rebuild the Gaza Strip,” Abbas told reporters following a meeting with Javier Solana, adding he also expects that the PNA as in the past will be the only mechanism in accepting aid for Gaza.

Solana also said the European Commission “insists in agreement with the president (Abbas) that the mechanism used to deploy the money is the one that represents the Palestinian (National) Authority,” adding “I don’t think there is a need for new mechanisms.”

The European Commission announced last Friday that it will pledge 436 million euros (566 million dollars) in aid to the Palestinians at the international donors’ conference.

Among other nations, Saudi Arabia has pledged 1 billion dollars for the Palestinians, while Qatar pledged 250 million dollars and Algeria 100 million dollars.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced on Sunday to donate nearly 1.65 billion dollars at Monday’s conference to ease Gaza’s humanitarian situation and help its social and economic reconstruction.

Hamas, not invited to the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting, has slammed taking his movement away from joining the Gaza reconstruction conference.

Yehia Musa, a Gaza Hamas lawmaker, said on Monday in a statement that “Gaza reconstruction conference is a continuation of the criminal war series on Gaza. It aims at achieving the political goals that the war on Gaza failed to achieve.”

Hamas routed Fatah-dominated security forces loyal to Abbas to seize the Gaza Strip in June 2007, one year after it won parliamentary elections. Abbas then sacked the Palestinian unity government led by Hamas and set up a Western-backed government in the occupied West Bank.

The schism between Hamas and Fatah has enervated efforts to strike a peace deal with Israel to establish a Palestinian statehood and poses a major obstacle to Western-funded reconstruction in the Gaza Strip following Israel’s massive offensive against Hamas.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Provide by Vietnam Travel

Int’l donors pledge $4.5 bln for Gaza reconstruction - International - News |  vietnam travel company

You can see more



Halong Cruises

Prev Next

enews & updates

Sign up to receive breaking news as well as receive other site updates!

Ads by Adonline

La Belle Vie Hotel