TURKEY TO FINANCE THE CONSTRUCTION OF 20 APARTMENT BUILDINGS IN GAZA

Gaza after Israeli air strikes in the blockaded area. Photo: AFP

Gaza, 15 Sya’ban 1436/2 June 2015 (MINA) – Turkey will finance the construction of 20 residential buildings to host families whose homes were destroyed during the last Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, a Turkish official has announced.

The representative of the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA), Bulent Korkmaz, told Anadolu news agency on Sunday that TIKA will finance the construction of 20 apartment buildings, amounting to 340 units on a total area of 19 dunums (0.019 km2) in Gaza.

The Turkish official, who visited Gaza on Sunday to participate in a mass wedding ceremony funded by the Turkish government, explained that the buildings will be constructed in the Valley of Gaza, a village south of Gaza City. Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)

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On Sunday, 2,000 Palestinian couples celebrated their union in a mass wedding ceremony funded by the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs in cooperation with TIKA at a cost of $4 million.

The Turkish Consul in Jerusalem, Mustafa Sarnic, announced last week that Turkey has provided $369 million worth of assistance to the Gaza Strip during the past ten years.

He told reporters at his residence in Jerusalem that Turkey provided urgent development aid to Palestine and Gaza in 2014 alone amounting to $34.7 million, as well as other emergency aid worth $24.5 million.

“Turkish civil society organisations provided $9.4 million in aid development, in addition to $7.7 million for emergency assistance to others, bringing the total figure to $76.3 million provided in 2014,” the Turkish Consul added. (T/P002/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)