SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, March 2 (Xinhua) --
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.
"We gathered today 4.481 billion dollars (for
rebuilding Gaza),"Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said in a chair's
conclusion statement at a press briefing following the Gaza aid conference held
in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, adding "it's beyond of our
expectations."
Photo taken on March 2, 2009 shows the
general view of an international donors' conference to plan the
reconstruction of the Palestinian Gaza Strip in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on
March 2, 2009. Officials and representatives from more than 70 countries
and some 15 organizations attended the conference kicked off on Monday
morning. (Xinhua/Zhang Ning) Photo Gallery>>>
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.
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) Photo
Gallery>>>
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.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy shakes
hands with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the
international donors' conference to plan the reconstruction of the
Palestinian Gaza Strip, in Sharm El-Sheikh of Egypt, March 2, 2009.
(Xinhua/MENA) Photo Gallery>>>
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.
Chinese envoy to the Middle East Sun
Bigan attends the international donors' conference to plan the
reconstruction of the Palestinian Gaza Strip, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt,
on March 2, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Ning) Photo
Gallery>>>
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.
A Palestinian child sits by house
rubbles at Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip March 2, 2009.
An international donor's conference was held on Monday in Egypt in an
effort to raise funds for the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip battered by
Israel's 22-day military attacks. (Xinhua/Mahmud Nassar) Photo Gallery>>>
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.
