(Published by BICOM 6-7-2015)
Key Points
·
- Israel agreed to
the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism with the UN and Palestinian Authority (PA) in
September 2014 and has been implementing it despite the PA not establishing its
rule in the Gaza Strip.
·
- The Hamas
authorities are openly reconstructing their military capabilities in the Gaza
Strip, including attack tunnels, diverting cement needed for civilian
reconstruction.
·
- Donor shortfalls
and infighting between the PA and Hamas are holding up reconstruction.
·
- Middle East
Minister Tobias Ellwood said in June: “We welcome the recent steps that
Israel has taken in Gaza, increasing exports, electricity and water. This is
the right approach and we hope it will be possible for Israel to go much
further.”
·
What steps has Israel taken to
aid reconstruction in the Gaza Strip?
·
- In September 2014
Israel agreed the Gaza
Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) with the UN and the PA to
import construction materials, including dual use materials, into the Gaza
Strip and assure they were not diverted for Hamas’s military purposes. An electronic database, run
by the PA’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, controls and matches the supply and
demand for construction goods.
·
·
- In recent months between 1000 and 1500
trucks have entered Gaza each week from Israel,
including hundreds of trucks of construction materials, despite the PA not
being present to check directly the use of the materials, due to disagreements
between the PA and Hamas. Israel has been working to expand the capacity of the
crossings.
·
At a meeting in May, international
donors, “took note of Israeli efforts to increase the volume
of materials into Gaza,” and “welcomed the readiness expressed [by Israel] for
further increasing the volumes even if this involves raised security risks.”
·
·
- According to the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: “As of 17 June,
95,143 individuals requiring materials for shelter repairs had been cleared to
purchase materials under the GRM. Of these, over 90 per cent have so far
procured full or partial quantities of their allocated construction material.”
Totally destroyed homes have not yet been rebuilt, but in June the PA approved
the entry of material for 16,000 new homes and initial works are expected in
the second half of 2015. According to an April 2014 UN report repairs had been
completed on 160 government schools, 74 kindergartens and 25 Ministry of Health
clinics.
·
·
- In addition to UN
projects, Israel is also facilitating Qatari-funded
infrastructure projects, with Israel allowing Qatari
officials to enter Gaza from Israel when Egypt refused.
·
·
- Israel has also
significantly increased the numbers of Gazans entering Israel, with 12,600
entering on average each month in 2015. Israel has also allowed some exports to
the West Bank and Israel.
·
- By contrast, Egypt
has kept the Rafah border crossing
with the Gaza Strip closed most of the time following terror attacks carried
out by ISIL affiliates against Egyptian targets in the Sinai on 24 October
2014. Egypt accuses Hamas of aiding armed groups in the Sinai.
·
What is the cause of delays in
reconstruction?
·
- Whilst Israeli and
Egyptian restrictions on access to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip pose constraints,
Palestinian infighting, donor shortfalls, and shortage of materials are major
factors holding back construction.
·
- Arab League Sec.
General Nabil Elaraby told Al-Hayat in February, “internal differences and the
absence of cooperation between the PA and Hamas are behind the delay in
reconstructing the Gaza Strip.”
·
- UN official
Jeffrey Feltman briefed the Security Council
in March: “Despite the GRM’s continued expansion, four months after the Cairo
conference donors have yet to fulfil the vast majority of their pledges. This
is frankly unacceptable.”
·
·
- A May 2015 Quartet report stated: “As long as
the deadlock continues and the PA is not on the ground in Gaza, there will not
be any significant improvement in the situation. An effective and tangible PA
presence in Gaza is also a prerequisite for many of the donors who pledged
funds.”
·
·
- Hamas is openly
rebuilding its network of attack tunnels, and Israeli security
officials accuse them of diverting cement imported for civilian
reconstruction for this purpose.
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