New York: The United States-backed Board of Peace has proposed a $2.4 billion plan to begin reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, unveiling a 66-project blueprint at a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The full cost of rebuilding Gaza from the damage inflicted by Israeli attacks is expected to reach approximately $35 billion over the medium term, with an additional $71.4 billion required over the next ten years, according to the Board of Peace plan.
The Board of Peace’s high representative, Nikolay Mladenov, stated that the proposed plan depends on Hamas’s disarmament. Hamas and other Palestinian factions agreed in July to a document outlining a disarmament plan for Gaza, which US President Donald Trump described as a monumental step toward peace and security.
“I want to be very clear that we are not bound by a calendar,” Mladenov said. “We want to make sure that this works.”
Reporting from the Board of Peace news conference in New York, Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey noted that little progress has been made on the ground in Gaza. “What we’ve been hearing from the experts in this meeting is what a daunting task is ahead,” she said.
Although the international community endorsed efforts to alleviate conditions in Gaza in July, Israel has not withdrawn its troops from the ground, meaning recovery has yet to begin, she added.
Diplomatic pressure is also mounting. Leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada criticised Israel at UNGA for blocking a two-state solution through illegal settlement activity in the West Bank and called for an end to suffering in Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded that the United Nations be allowed to perform its mandates in Gaza. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reaffirming Turkey’s commitment to the ceasefire agreement as a signatory, demanded that reconstruction must begin as soon as possible.
