NORWAY MAY SETUP COMMITTEE TO OVERSEE REBUILDING GAZA

Oslo, 20 Jumadil Awwal 1436/11 March 2015 (MINA) – Norway is looking into the possibility of forming a special committee to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip similar to the committee established by Qatar, a special source told Al-Resalah news site.

The source said that a proposal, submitted to the Norwegian prime minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs last month, provides that Norway establishes a special committee to supervise the channelling of funds to Gaza and reconstruction projects there, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

According to the source, a Norwegian delegation arrived in Gaza last week in order to study the idea and its applicability.

The source said the Norwegian government and other European ambassadors are wary of the Palestinian Authority’s role in the process and fear that it will hinder rebuilding the enclave or will not send the money to the Gaza Strip.

The source added, “European countries tend to believe that the Palestinian Authority wants to impede reconstruction plans for political benefits, however reports coming from the Gaza Strip warn that the situation could explode at any moment there.”

Last month, the UK’s Oxfam warned that at the current rate, it would take 100 years to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

The report said the enclave needs 800,000 trucks of reconstruction material to rebuild homes, schools, medical facilities and the necessary infrastructure, which was destroyed by repeated disputes and years of Israeli siege.

Norway was in charge of organising the Gaza reconstruction conference which was held in Cairo, after the recent Israeli aggression in the summer of 2014.(T/P008/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)