PM: Only half of Cairo pledges to be spent on Gaza reconstruction
Published yesterday (updated) 13/10/2014 20:48
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=732989


RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah says only half of the money
pledged during the donor conference in Cairo will be dedicated to Gaza
reconstruction, while the other half will be spent on other Palestinian
needs in the coming three years.

Speaking at a joint news conference with UN secretary-general Ban Ki Mooon
in Ramallah, Hamdallah said the Palestinians' main goal was to end the
Israeli occupation.

He said officials at the Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo had
asserted that Israel and the Palestinian factions should adhere to the
ceasefire agreement and seek to reach a permanent ceasefire in order to help
with the reconstruction efforts.

Ban Ki-moon, for his part, said he brought a message of hope to rebuild the
Gaza Strip in order to try and create a better future for the people of
Gaza, where thousands of innocent people have died and hundreds of thousands
have been suffering.

While he insisted that rebuilding Gaza was a priority, Ban said that it was
more important to avoid a repetition of the same situation. The Gaza Strip,
he said, was destroyed three times before and it’s time to make sure this
destruction comes to an end.

He also denounced the settlement activities the Israeli government has been
carrying out along with incitement in Jerusalem which would only lead to
more tension. The occupation, added Ban, has gone on for decades and “now it’s
time for a two-state solution, and the UN will continue to exert efforts for
that end.”