CAIRO — As nations and organizations pledged more than $5 billion to rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, several major donors said Sunday that this is the last time they will pay and urged Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a final peace settlement leading to two states.
Appearing in Cairo at a conference of more than 50 donor nations, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States will contribute an additional $212 million to Palestinians, including Gazans.
“The people of Gaza do need our help, desperately — not tomorrow, not next week, but they need it now,” he said.
The United States has committed more than $400 million to aid Palestinians, Kerry said.
A State Department breakdown suggests that only part of the new money will go directly to Gaza. According to the department, $100 million will go toward bolstering the Palestinian Authority budget and $37 million toward Palestinian Authority “institutions,” including water infrastructure in the West Bank. Just $75 million will be set aside for urgent relief in Gaza.
The Palestinian Authority says that $4 billion will be needed over the next three years to rebuild Gaza, which was devastated by Israeli artillery and missiles during the recent 50-day conflict. Some of that weaponry was provided by the U.S., which gives Israel $3 billion a year in aid, most of it in the form of military assistance.
On Sunday, Qatar committed $1 billion toward the reconstruction of Gaza. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Turkey pledged $200 million each. Greece has offered the equivalent of about $1.35 million.
All told, the donors pledged $5.4 billion, Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende announced Sunday night. The figure surpassed gloomy forecasts that some fatigued donors would keep their coffers closed. Brende said $400,000 would be used for humanitarian aid and the rest set aside for reconstruction.
He made it clear, however, that Europe’s patience is wearing thin with the seemingly endless violence between the two sides.
“It’s understandable for donors and taxpayers alike to ask why taxpayers should pick up the bill for what warring parties have torn down,” he said.
The Palestinians say that 18,000 houses were destroyed in the bombing, rendering 100,000 people homeless. Gaza’s population is 1.7 million. The United Nations reports that 40,000 people are still being sheltered in 19 U.N. schools in Gaza.
Some of the pledges
Qatar: $1 billion
United States: $212 million
United Arab Emirates: $200 million
European Union: $568 million Turkey: $200 million
The Associated Press
