[New York Times] Sabrina Tavernise - Aid agencies expect several hundred million dollars to be pledged for food, medicine and spare parts for electrical grids. But that does not touch the broader question of rebuilding, which will require large quantities of cement, metal and glass, all of which Gaza lacks. Israel said that letting such supplies in freely would be risky. Hamas militants built rockets from pipes imported for a sanitation plant. Peter Lerner, the spokesman for the Israel Defense Ministry's coordination office for Gaza, said that while Israel was facilitating all humanitarian work, including allowing in cable to fix the electrical grid, it would not consider reopening the border crossings fully for commercial use, and any reconstruction projects would need to be approved individually. "We are not interested in rebuilding Hamas at any stage," he said.
2009-01-26 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive