Hamdallah: Gaza's reconstruction will not happen without lifting the siege

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah highlighted on Thursday the strength of the relationship between the Palestinian government and the International Monetary Fund, stressing that, “Despite the difficult economic conditions experienced by the Palestinian government, it continues to provide all services to all citizens no matter their whereabouts, and particularly in the Gaza Strip, due to the difficult economic situation experienced by our people there,” Arabs48 news website reported.

Hamdallah’s statement came during his meeting with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund, headed by Christoph Dionvald, vice president of the Middle East and Central Asia, at the Prime Minister’s headquarters in Ramallah, where the delegation was briefed on the latest political and economic developments, especially the issue of the post-war reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

During the meeting, Hamdallah also discussed the importance of exerting greater efforts to coordinate between the Palestinian government and donor countries to carry out the reconstruction operations in Gaza on the basis of transparency and integrity, adding that the reconstruction process will not happen without lifting the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for the past seven years.

Meanwhile, Hamdallah condemned the Israeli occupation authorities’ repeated incursions against Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying that: “Such systematic and provocative acts undermine the efforts to reach a political settlement based on the two-state solution.”

For his part, Dionvald said that the International Monetary Fund is committed to supporting the Palestinian government, adding that this does not include financial assistance but rather support through providing all the required counselling to enable the work of the government and the advancement of the institutions of the future Palestinian state.