[Reuters] Adam Entous - The U.S. hopes to use the post-war reconstruction of Gaza to help the Western-backed Palestinian Authority reassert its presence and influence in Hamas' stronghold. The aim would be to ensure that credit for reconstruction accrues to the PA and not to the Iranian-backed Islamists of Hamas. "Whoever rebuilds Gaza will be the real winner," said one Western diplomat. EU officials said preparations were already under way for a donor conference. "Let's be realistic," a senior EU diplomat said. "If the Palestinian Authority is to be in charge, it has to be on the ground, have institutions. At the moment there is none of that." In addition, Western donors who financed most of the infrastructure in the first place have grown weary of seeing it destroyed by the Israelis and then being asked to fund the rebuilding.
2009-01-16 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive