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Wednesday 24 Dec 2014 - 14:36 Makkah mean time-2-3-1436  Gaza (IINA) – Four months after the end of the war of Israel on Gaza strip, more than 50,000 displaced Gazans still have no home and no hope. There has been little reconstruction. The majority of the damaged factories, which were supposed to have been rebuilt, lie derelict, the Independent newspaper reported.
Just a fraction of the construction material required has been delivered; only 1.8 percent of the 5 million tonnes needed. Similarly, just over 1 percent has been seen of the $5 billion (£3.2 million) pledged by the international community.
The reconstruction plan was set up between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the UN. The conditions stipulated by the Israeli government for allowing supplies in have been labelled draconian, designed to prevent Gaza’s development. The Israelis insist they are vital to ensure that the material is not used for military purposes by Hamas.
Israel has repeatedly claimed that the group is rearming and intent on trying to replace the network of tunnels destroyed in the last conflict.
Each construction project must be approved by Israel. Twelve Gaza firms were licensed to receive cement, but only two have, and even then a tiny portion of what they needed. All of them had to put security precautions in place, described as more akin to tracking weapons.
Mufid al-Hassaina, the minister for public works and housing in the Palestinian Authority, acknowledges the scale of the problem: "I would say we are in the worst situation since 1948: we have a blockade, huge unemployment and refugees. Yes, there is a growing black market. People have to use it to make money because the international donor’s pledges still haven’t arrived. But for a proper solution, Israel needs to end the blockade."
SM/IINA
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