In the wake of Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, the international community is establishing strategies to rebuild the coastal enclave and mend the devastation to property and infrastructure.
The task at hand is huge and involves not only money, but also no small amount of political acumen.
Palestinian officials reckon the damage inflicted during the operation could amount to up to $2 billion. This includes more than 500 homes that were demolished, 16 ministry buildings, 22 mosques, around 20,000 homes that were partially destroyed, and damage to roads, water pipes and sewage facilities.
“The physical reconstruction is only one part,” says Marc Otte, EU special representative for the Middle East Peace Process told The Media Line.
“The other is political reconstruction to reunite the Palestinians, make sure that the situation that led to the conflict we have seen doesn’t repeat itself. It’s more than just money,” he says.
The political and physical reconstruction will take place in tandem rather than one after the other, he says.
A United Nations scoping mission is currently assessing the damage in Gaza along with World Bank and European Commission officials and is expected to provide an initial figure of the required funding within the next week or two.
“There will be a flash appeal for immediate humanitarian needs and in the second phase we’ll look at covering basic needs and restoring basic services like electricity, water and roads. In the third longer-term phase there will be more permanent reconstruction.”
That Hamas still maintains a government in the Gaza Strip adds a complex political dimension to the reconstruction efforts.
The United States and the European Union, like Israel, designate Hamas a terror organization.
For this reason, these countries will not hand Hamas any money directly.
The European Union is well aware that if it does not involve itself in the reconstruction efforts, the task will fall into the hands of Iran. This will further foil any chances of bringing Hamas into the diplomatic fold, and push it further into the arms of extremist regimes.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU’s external relations commissioner, echoed this concern two days after Israel announced the unilateral cease-fire.
“For reconstruction you also need an interlocutor,” she said, without specifying who the mediator would be. There is speculation that the government in Ramallah would be a viable choice, an option that Hamas, at least outwardly, is not ruling out.
There should be discussions about distributing the money, Otte says.
“At the moment the immediate needs and restoring basic services are within the reach of the international organizations there on the spot. When it comes to the longer term of restoring normal life, Hamas is a fact of life in Gaza.”
Otte admits that at this stage, no guarantees can be given as to who the money would reach.
“A mechanism would have to be put in place. It’s important we find channels to ensure delivery to the population. It’s the people who have suffered.”
It should be noted that the EU is not the only party to the reconstruction of Gaza and much of the damage is expected to be covered by donations from the Arab world.
Saudi Arabia has already pledged $1 billion for mending the devastation and Kuwait has pledged $34 million to the U.N. agency aiding Palestinians in Gaza.
As to Israel’s participation in the international reconstruction efforts, Otte says the one thing the EU demands of Israel immediately is access and facilitating both international organizations and individual donor countries, including Arab states, in reaching the affected areas.
The EU is party to the international peace Quartet, the international players trying to outline a solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict, which also includes the United States, the United Nations and Russia.
As such, the EU is following the events in Gaza and the aftermath of the operation with interest and concern about how this will affect the peace process.
The offensive has caused a setback in relations between Israel and Arab states. Jordan and Mauritania recalled their ambassadors in the wake of the attack and Qatar suspended its low-level relations with Israel.
There have also been statements calling into question the sustainability and relevance of the Arab Initiative, the peace plan that outlines a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict under which Israel would withdraw from lands seized since 1967 and accept a Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital. In exchange, Arab countries would normalize relations with Israel.
The initiative was reaffirmed at an Arab League summit in Riyadh in 2007.
Saudi King ‘Abdallah Bin ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz said this week that the initiative might soon run out of steam. Israel needed to act on the initiative in order to save the peace process, he said.
Otte says there is a need to put the initiative in motion.
“The Arab peace initiative has been on the table for some time now and Israel has consistently neglected it,” he says. “There have been encouraging statements in the past few months from Israeli politicians. Now it needs to be operationalized and not remain a piece of paper. Therefore, both sides need to take steps towards each other.”
Otte sees the new administration in the United States as an opportunity to renew a serious peace track between Israelis and Palestinians.
“Peace in the Middle East cannot be effective without the full and consistent involvement of the U.S.,” he says.
“The people advising [U.S. President Barack Obama] on the Middle East have been recommending an early engagement. At the moment I can say that the U.S.’s consistent commitment is indispensable.”
As to an increased European involvement in the conflict, Otte says Europe has been consistently important in terms of economic assistance, institution building and as a bridge to the Arab world.
“You’ve seen in the last few weeks an increased European engagement and I expect it to continue,” he says.