Abbas: No Palestinian faction is entitled to Gaza repair funds

PA president says Palestinian government will be responsible for reconstruction of Gaza, not a particular party or faction.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
US Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo this week. (photo credit: REUTERS)
US Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo this week.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Palestinian Authority on Monday welcomed the Cairo donor states’ decision to allocate $5.4 billion toward the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, saying this was a “message from the world to Israel that the continuation of occupation is unacceptable.”
PA President Mahmoud Abbas told Egyptian journalists on Sunday night that the Palestinian government would be responsible for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, adding that no party or faction would be entitled to receive the funds promised by the donor states.
The Palestinian president met in Cairo with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who also attended the donor conference, and said that their meeting focused on ways of resuming the peace negotiations with Israel.
PA Presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said that the conference sent a political message to Israel that the international community can’t accept the continuation of “occupation.”
Israel must lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip immediately and fully withdraw to the pre- 1967 lines, including east Jerusalem, he said.
Abu Rudaineh described the results of the conference as significant, and added that the Palestinians were expecting the donor states to fulfill their financial pledges.
He also warned Israel against placing obstacles in the way of efforts to reconstruct the Gaza Strip.
While the conference’s financial promises were encouraging, “matters on the political front remain stranded,” he said.
The Palestinian position is very clear, the spokesman said. “We will go to the Security Council and then to other international organizations [to seek membership].”
Abu Rudaineh said that the financial coalition forged during the Cairo conference should now be transformed into a “political alliance for Palestine.”