Recovery and reconstruction in Gaza not going to be easy: Palestinian Ambassador

Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh, Palestinian Ambassador to India, has said that the recovery and reconstruction of war-hit Gaza is “not going to be easy”.

Addressing the media here on Sunday (December 14), he said that it would be “a long process”. “According to a study conducted by the Palestinian National Authority, in association with the U.N., European Union, and the World Bank, the cost of recovery and reconstruction is going to be 57 billion dollars. It can happen if and only if Israel allows us to start the work. There can be no return to normalcy when every single citizen is suffering from trauma,” Mr. Shawesh said.

Asked about the ongoing ceasefire there, he said that “ceasefire” was an ambiguous and untrue word when used in Gaza’s context. “It is used to refer to two armies fighting each other, which is not the situation there. It is a war launched by the Israeli occupation army, which is supported by the United States and many other Western countries. As the U.N. has said, Israel has not stopped firing and killing people in Gaza even now. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed since the declaration of the so-called ceasefire,” Mr. Shawesh said.

He pointed out that there was a “devastating situation” in Gaza. “More than 90% of the people have been internally displaced. A vast majority is living in tents in this winter. The infrastructure is totally collapsed. Children are not going to schools. Universities are dysfunctional. Even the U.N. is saying that there is not enough humanitarian aid,” he added.