| Gaza to get $4.48 billion | ||||||
But the donor conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh insisted that the aid money for the Gaza Strip must bypass its Hamas rulers. "We have gathered today 4.481 billion dollars, in addition to previous pledges," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gheit said at the close of the conference aimed at helping to rebuild Gaza after Israel's three-week war. He said donors called for "the immediate, total and unconditional opening" of Gaza's borders to ease a blockade that has prevented all but vital humanitarian aid reaching the impoverished enclave's 1.4 million inhabitants. World leaders at the conference also appealed for urgent action to breathe new life into the moribund Middle East peace process and said reconciliation between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah was crucial. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on her first visit to the region as America's top diplomat, said the economic aid must go hand-in-hand with efforts to reach a comprehensive peace deal. "Our response to today's crisis in Gaza cannot be separated from our broader efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace," she said. Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries have offered $1.65 billion. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said the Kingdom would pay its donation of $1 billion only if there were no obstacles. "We have set out a mechanism for the disbursement of the amount through Saudi Fund for Development in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank and international organizations that are present in the area to bring in materials required for projects," he said, adding that the conference should guarantee the implementation of projects. Prince Saud warned Israel that an Arab initiative for Middle East peace could not remain on the table forever. "Israel ... must realize that the choice between war and peace cannot be open-ended, and that the initiative will not remain forever on the table," he said quoting a statement made by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. Prince Saud slammed Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and its blockade of the Gaza Strip. "Peace, stability and development are linked and one cannot be achieved without the other," he said. He described the situation in the occupied territories, especially Gaza, as a human catastrophe. "World Bank reports show that most Palestinians live in poverty," he added. The Palestinian Authority had been seeking $2.8 billion from the 75 countries and donor groups gathered here |
Agencies
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