BBC NEWS Cash alone 'will not mend Gaza' Political action as well as funding is needed to resolve the crisis facing Gaza, an international donors' conference in Egypt has been told.
The Palestinians have asked for $2.8bn (£2bn) to help rebuild the enclave after Israel's three-week offensive. But Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told the summit cash was "insufficient" without a political solution. His comments were echoed by new US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who pledged $900m toward the effort. "Our response to today's crisis in Gaza cannot be separated from our broader efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace," Mrs Clinton told the conference, in her first visit to the Middle East as America's top diplomat. She said the aim of the aid was to "foster conditions in which a Palestinian state can be fully realised". Some 1,300 Palestinians, of whom 412 were children, were killed and thousands of homes and businesses destroyed in December and January as Israel tried to bring an end to cross-border rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. Hamas, which controls Gaza but is regarded by both the US and the EU as a terrorist organisation, was not invited to attend the one-day conference at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. 'One viable future' Donations are expected to exceed the Palestinians' request for $2.8bn (£2bn). As well as Mrs Clinton's $900m, Saudi Arabia is expected to reaffirm its promised $1bn (£703m) for Gaza. “ The situation at the border crossings is intolerable ” Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary General Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that while all the support was appreciated, "we insist on the pressing need to achieve substantial progress towards a just settlement [of the conflict with Israel]". "We are all conscious that the reconstruction and development efforts will remain insufficient, powerless and threatened in the absence of a political settlement," he said at the conference. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said now was the "time to think freshly, to lead boldly". "There is only one viable future: Palestinians and Israelis living side by side in peace and security," he told delegates. French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged "responsible Palestinians" to seek peace with Israel. "You must admit that there is no other road to the creation of a Palestinian state but to engage resolutely in searching for a political solution and engage in a dialogue with Israel," he said in a message to Hamas. Aid flows Raising money for Gaza is the easy part, the BBC's Christian Fraser in Egypt says. GAZA DESTRUCTION # 14,000 homes # 219 factories # 240 schools UNDP estimates The real business of the conference is the practicalities of how to get it to the people who need it most, he adds. All but essential supplies are still subject to Israeli blockades at the crossing points into Gaza. Building and raw materials deemed by Israel to be useful to militants as well as civilians have been banned. Aid workers say products turned away at the border have included macaroni, lentils, paper and school books. Mr Ban described the situation at the crossings as "intolerable". "Aid workers do not have access. Essential commodities cannot get in. Our first and indispensable goal, therefore, is open crossings," he told delegates. But he said it was also "essential" to ensure that illegal weapons were prevented from being allowed to enter Gaza. Donor countries as well as Israel, which did not attend the conference, have stressed that they do not want aid to end up in the hands of Hamas. "Like the international community, Israel does not want to see support to Hamas," Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said. "We want to see support for the people of Gaza." The Palestinian Authority has proposed that all aid to Gaza is channelled through itself. Although Israel and Western negotiators refuse to speak to Hamas, UN agencies working in Gaza do co-ordinate with the Hamas government. UN relief agency Unrwa says it has contacts with Hamas "even at ministerial level", but strictly on technical issues related to the delivery of its humanitarian services in line with wider UN policy. In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7918105.stm Published: 2009/03/02 13:06:27 GMT © BBC MMIX Print Sponsor --------------- Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo Allah yang disembah orang Islam tipikal dan yang digambarkan oleh al-Mushaf itu dungu, buas, kejam, keji, ganas, zalim lagi biadab hanyalah Allah fiktif.
