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Egypt FM: $5.2 billion pledged at Gaza conference
2009-03-02
SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - International donors pledged $5.2 billion to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip and boost the Palestinian president at a conference Monday, and they urged the Palestinians to end their divisions and revive the peace process with Israel. Still to be determined is how the money will be distributed. Most international donors won't funnel money directly to the Islamic militants of Hamas that rule Gaza. And lack of a formal cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has kept Gaza's borders sealed to most aid shipments. The conference gathered the presidents of Egypt and France, the U.N. chief and top diplomats from 45 nations -- including Hillary Rodham Clinton in her first Mideast trip as U.S. secretary of state -- in a high-profile attempt to show international support for reconstruction after Israel's crippling offensive against Hamas. But the broader message was that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his rivals in Hamas must resolve their dispute and form a government that can move ahead with rebuilding in Gaza and return to the negotiating table with Israel. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband warned "there will be only limited physical reconstruction without political reconstruction" and stressed that Palestinians "need a single government across the Occupied Territories" -- a direct appeal for rival Palestinian factions to hammer out a unity government. Clinton issued a blunt call for urgent action to forge a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. "We cannot afford more setbacks or delays -- or regrets about what might have been, had different decisions been made," she said in apparent reference to the failure of previous peace initiatives, including those pushed vigorously by her husband's administration. The 80 nations and international organizations at Monday's gathering in this Red Sea resort pledged $5.2 billion, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters. Most of that amount -- $4.48 billion -- was in new pledges, with the remainder made up of previous, unfulfilled pledges that donors recommitted to giving, he said. Aboul Gheit said the figure is "beyond of our expectations." Palestinian Planning Minister Samir Abdullah said the money is earmarked for humanitarian aid to Gaza, rebuilding in the territory and budget support to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority led by Abbas. He could not immediately say how much was going to each fund. The biggest donor is Saudi Arabia, at $1 billion, followed by the United States, which promised $900 million. A third of the U.S. pledge was for humanitarian aid to Gaza and the rest to assist the Palestinian Authority. Control of the funds is a key question. The international community refuses to negotiate with Gaza's militant Hamas rulers, considered a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Israel. Hamas was not invited to the conference in this Red Sea resort. But Abbas' government has little presence in Gaza after being driven out by Hamas in 2007. In a significant move, Arab Persian Gulf nations -- including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait -- pledged $1.6 billion, but bypassed both Hamas and Abbas. The gulf nations said in a statement they would set up a joint office in Gaza to carry out reconstruction on their own, deciding on projects and implementing them. They may be trying to signal to Hamas that the gulf nations are not favoring Abbas, hoping to encourage the militant group to moderate and reconcile with the Palestinian Authority. Karen AbuZayd, the head of the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, told The Associated Press that many donor nations had discussed possibly using the United Nations as an alternative route to avoid the sticky issue of who controls the funds. "Certain donors have come forward to ask, and some of the regional parties as well have thought that perhaps the U.N. could do more than what it's doing or what is its mandate," she said. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned in opening remarks to the gathering that the donors' pledges should not be treated as "spoils of war" -- a message to rival Palestinian factions not to squabble over the funds. He also said reconstruction will depend on reaching a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel, which Egypt is trying to mediate, and the opening of Gaza's border crossings, which have been largely closed by Egypt and Israel since Hamas seized control of the territory. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said "responsible Palestinians" should seek peace with Israel and said a prisoner exchange by Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, held by Gaza militants since June 2006, "is a priority." Israel has demanded Schalit's release as part of any truce deal. "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," Sarkozy said in a clear message to the militant group. Abbas asked participants to adopt the reconstruction plan of his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, describing it as a "national comprehensive development plan." He promised reconstruction would be based on "transparency and justice." Fayyad prepared a 53-page plan for donors, including detailed damage assessments. For example, fixing war damage to infrastructure and homes would cost $501 million, according to the plan, which says 4,036 homes were destroyed and 11,514 damaged. Hamas spokesmen Fawzi Barhoum sought to dispel fears his group was trying to grab funds but also said the donations shouldn't be channeled through Abbas. He urged the conference to work out "meaningful mechanisms" to get money directly to Gazans "without going into the internal Palestinian political differences." ___ Associated Press writer Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City contributed to this report.
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