At least 60 percent of the homes in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed and 85 percent of the population is homeless, after Israel counter-attacked Hamas on 8 October last year. The reconstruction will cost several tens of billions of US dollars and take several decades, writes the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Who will foot the bill? – We are not going to pay for the rebuilding of buildings that Hamas used to go to war against our people, says Eylon Levy to news. He is a spokesperson for the government of Israel. Eylon Levy is a spokesperson for the Government of Israel. Photo: Screen dump / LinkedIn – Unlike the last time Israel explained its position by saying that it is Hamas’s fault that there has been so much destruction. Levy claims that Hamas built a massive tunnel system under civilian buildings, such as mosques, schools, residential buildings and hospitals. – Israel must destroy them because Hamas uses them against our people. And then have the audacity to claim that Israel must somehow pay for it. Obviously not, says Levy. Hamas admits that there are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels in and around Gaza, but has repeatedly denied that they use hospitals for military activity. When asked if it will be the international community that will foot the bill, Levy replies that it must not be like the last time. Smoke rises from an explosion in the Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel. Photo: AP – The last time the international community generously contributed to the reconstruction of Gaza, Hamas used the money to build military structures underground. It must not happen again, says Levy. – Not realistic That Israel abdicates responsibility for reconstruction is not surprising, says Dag Henrik Tuastad, senior lecturer in Middle Eastern studies at the University of Oslo. – Viewed from history, it is not realistic that they will do it, regardless of what you think legally or morally they have a duty to, says Tuastad to news. It is not likely that Israel will contribute to the reconstruction of Gaza, says senior lecturer in Middle Eastern studies at UIO, Dag Henrik Tuastad. He explains that Israel has never contributed to rebuilding what has been destroyed in the conflict with the Palestinians in Gaza. – And not even all the way back to 1948, when the Palestinians were expelled, has compensation been given for land and property that the Palestinians then lost. So that Israel should contribute to the economy there is unrealistic. Palestinians in Beit Lahiya, north of the Gaza Strip, wait for emergency aid. Very few supplies reach the area, which is now experiencing a humanitarian disaster. Photo: – / AFP Hungersnød Tuastad believes that it is also not realistic that the international community will spit money into Gaza before an agreement has been reached on who will have political control over Gaza. In any case, he thinks the issue of reconstruction is rushed. – Right now it’s about survival. Now we are faced with an acute famine in Gaza, which has been politically created. So now the first step is to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. After that, a plan must be drawn up for who will govern Gaza, says Tuastad. He adds that the economy will come on day two after a permanent ceasefire has been put in place. It will cost tens of billions of dollars and take decades to rebuild the Gaza Strip. Photo: – / AFP Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide also says that stopping the war and the enormous suffering in Gaza is the first priority now. – Will have consequences He points out that Israel’s massive bombing of Gaza has destroyed most housing developments, schools, hospitals, public infrastructure, water and power supplies. – This has made Gaza one of the most systematically destroyed areas in the world in history, relative to its limited area, says Barth Eide to news. Foreign Minister Barth Eide says that Norway has been clear that Israel’s attack on Gaza is not in line with international law and that it will have consequences for the financial responsibility for the reconstruction. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB The foreign minister says that Norway has been clear that there can be no doubt that Israel’s attack on Gaza was not carried out in line with international law. – It will of course also have consequences for the financial responsibility for the reconstruction of Gaza, but this question must be clarified in more detail after the war, says Barth Eide. – As head of the donor country group for Palestine, this is a question we will be working on a lot as soon as the war itself is over. Around 1,160 Israelis died when Hamas attacked Israel on the seventh of October last year. 30,960 Palestinians have since lost their lives in Israel’s counter-attack on Hamas.
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Israel will not pay for the reconstruction of Gaza – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
