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Blaming Israel for Gaza's Reconstruction Delays is Wilfull Ignorance
(Guardian-UK) Daniel Taub - Israel has cooperated fully with the Gaza reconstruction mechanism (GRM) established by the UN and has so far facilitated the entry of over 62,000 tons of construction supplies to Gaza. This is corroborated by the PA's own figures, which confirm that stocks of all key materials, including cement, aggregate, and re-bar (steel) remain in surplus. Yet donors remain unconvinced that Hamas genuinely wants to rebuild Gaza's homes, and not Gaza's tunnels. Earlier this month, the UN's under-secretary general, Jeffrey Feltman, cited the delay in the disbursement of international aid as a major obstacle to reconstruction. Under the GRM, the PA bears primary responsibility for coordinating reconstruction. Yet a power struggle between Hamas and the PA for control of Gaza has degenerated into violence and recriminations, and has taken precedence over the rebuilding effort. This has led the secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, to tell Al-Hayat, "The internal differences and the absence of cooperation between the PA and Hamas are behind the delay in reconstructing the Gaza Strip." The writer is the Israeli ambassador to the UK.