Washington: Israel must help rebuild Gaza

The US Department of State announced on Wednesday that Israel should contribute to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which suffered devastating damages in the latest Israeli aggression. Washington’s announcement came prior to a conference that will be held in Cairo on Sunday.

The US Department of State spokeswoman, Jennifer Psaki, said that, “[The United States] believes that Israel should play a role in the reconstruction of Gaza”.

“We are happy to see that the UN, Israel and the Palestinian Authority have all agreed to expedite the process of delivering supplies to the Gaza Strip because they have taken into account the importance of ensuring Israeli security”, Psaki added.

Psaki went on to say, “In an ideal situation, we would like to see sustainable and long-term ceasefire agreements moving forward, so that we do not face frequent conflicts in the future”.

In response to questions as to whether or not US Secretary of State, John Kerry, seeks to find a solution to this problem on the side-lines of the upcoming conference, Psaki said, “It is not our first priority. I think that it will be necessary for all parties to meet privately outside of this conference when it comes to this matter”.

US Secretary of State, John Kerry, is expected to participate in Sunday’s International Conference for Gaza Donors in Cairo, organised by Egypt and Norway after the Palestinian government announced last week that their plan for rebuilding Gaza was estimated to cost around four billion dollars.

The proposed plan encompasses three stages: the first stage allocates 414 million dollars to address immediate needs while the second stage allocates 1.2 billion dollars to rapidly advance Gaza’s economy. Finally, 2.4 billion dollars have been reserved to “reconstruct Gaza’s infrastructure over the long term”.