Cycle of Death, Destruction and Rebuilding Continues in Gaza

Displaced Palestinians gather at a United Nations school in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, Aug. 26, 2014. Families found refuge after fleeing their homes in an area under heavy aerial bombardment in the besieged Palestinian territory. Credit: UN Photo/Shareef SarhanBy Thalif DeenUNITED NATIONS, Oct 13 2014 (IPS)When the international pledging conference to rebuild a devastated Gaza ended in Cairo over the weekend – the third such conference in less than six years – the lingering question among donors was: is this the last of it or are there more assaults to come?U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon implicitly warned of the futility of the continuing exercise when he said: “We cannot continue to build and destroy – and build and destroy – like this. This should be the last reconstruction conference”."Donors who keep footing the bill to rebuild Gaza should insist that Israel lift unjustified restrictions that are worsening a grim humanitarian situation and needlessly punishing civilians." -- Sarah Leah WhitsonBut will it?The total amount pledged at the Cairo conference was around 5.4 billion dollars.The funds came mostly from the European Union (568 million dollars) and oil-blessed Gulf nations, including Qatar (1.0 billion dollars), Saudi Arabia (500 million dollars, pledged before the conference), United Arab Emirates and Kuwait (200 million dollars each) and the United States (212 million dollars).Sarah Leah Whitson, executive direc...

Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - October 13, 2014 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Thalif Deen Tags: Aid Arabs Rise for Rights Armed Conflicts Development & Aid Featured Global Global Geopolitics Global Governance Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Middle East & North Africa Mi Source Type: news