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Gaza Rebuilding Slowed By Trickle Of Aid, Rivalry
[Ynet] Only one shipment of 400 tons of cement sent since Gazoo rebuild program launched, prompting Paleostinian allegations of political foot-dragging.Several dozen tons of cement bags stored in a warehouse are one of the few tangible achievements so far of a $2.7 billion plan to rebuild war-wrecked Gazoo Strip. The program was launched with high expectations at an international conference in Cairo on Oct. 12, but has run into obstacles, including wrangling between the rival Paleostinian factions Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Fatah for control in Gazoo and what officials say has been a trickle of promised aid.
"We are waiting and waiting," said Samer al-Khaisy, 29, who lives with his wife and three pre-school daughters in one room of his damaged apartment, with holes in the wall covered by plastic sheets.
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... Hamas has since ceded some control to a Paleostinian unity government that reports to Abbas and is to lead reconstruction. The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... , in turn, devised a system under which Israel would gradually ease a ban on selling building materials to Gazoo, with UN monitors keeping track of shipments in Gazoo to make sure they are not diverted by Hamas for military use.
But a UN official said the holdup is mostly technical and that he expects more deliveries once the Paleostinian government has vetted more Gazoo importers of construction material and potential buyers.
... for fear of being murdered... because he was not authorized to discuss the program with the media. At the al-Shamali company in Gazoo City's Shijaiyah neighborhood, cameras were trained on 120 tons of cement in a corner of a warehouse. Company accountant Nashad Aref said U.N. monitors have visited three times so far to check the setup. The company is not yet allowed to sell the cement, he said, adding that he has had to fend off impatient residents of the hard-hit area. Company driver Nafez Awad said he'd hoped to have first dibs to repair his apartment, but was told the UN isn't allowing sales yet. Another hurdle is the fraught relationship between Hamas and Abbas, and differences over divvying up responsibilities. For example, Hamas wants to keep some of its border officials at the main Israel-Gazoo cargo crossing, Kerem Shalom, but the unity government wants to send its own team there, arguing that this would expedite imports. "Nothing is solved about the government and the crossings," said Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas official. It was business as usual this week at the cargo crossing, a conduit for consumer goods Israel has allowed to enter Gazoo in recent years. On Tuesday, trucks delivered bananas, apples, refrigerators, cows and horses -- just no cement.
the man who has no enemies isn't anybody and has never done anything... at a Hamas-run point about a mile away, drivers pay customs and inspectors check cargo. Slow aid payments are another problem. "It is known that money needs months to arrive, but we are encouraging donors and ask them to give us even part of the assistance so as to begin the projects," said Mohammed Mustafa, the top government official in charge of reconstruction. Government envoys will soon start visiting wealthy Gulf countries to seek accelerated aid payments, he said.
Posted by: trailing wife 2014-10-24 |
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