Munich [Germany], February 20: Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has called on the international community to launch a programme akin to the Marshall Plan, the huge US effort to rebuild Europe after World War II, for the badly damaged Gaza Strip.
"We need a Marshall Plan for Gaza," Shtayyeh told dpa on the fringes of the Munich Security Conference at the weekend.
He said the plan should have three components: "One, relief and immediate aid. Second, reconstruction and third, revitalization of the economy." "We have seen from satellite images that 45 percent of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed. That means in private property, 281,000 housing units, between complete destruction and partial destruction," the Palestinian Authority leader told DPA.
In some cases, repairs could be possible in weeks or months, he said.
"That means we need a lot of money for this."
The prime minister, who is based in Ramallah in the West Bank and has no control over the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, once again warned Israel against driving the Palestinians who have fled to the south of the coastal strip to Egypt with a military offensive.
Instead, Shtayyeh said Israel should let the people return to their homes as well as allow aid deliveries to the northern Gaza Strip, and switch the water and electricity back on.
"Allow people to go back to their homes," he said.
"Israel might not like to do that, but that is what we have been asking here in Munich, with all the people whom we have been meeting and with Washington, Germany, Britain and all other countries," said Shtayyeh.
Source: Qatar Tribune
