Publication
Omar Shaban Ismail · PalThink for Strategic Studies · 2014
An analysis of the recurring cycle of donor reconstruction conferences for Gaza following each Israeli military campaign, examining the 2009 Sharm el-Sheikh conference failures and arguing that genuine reconstruction requires structural changes in aid governance and Palestinian political reconciliation.
An analysis of the recurring cycle of donor reconstruction conferences for Gaza following each Israeli military campaign, examining the 2009 Sharm el-Sheikh…
Following Israel's December 2008-January 2009 war on Gaza, a donor conference was convened in Sharm el-Sheikh in March 2009, attended by representatives of 70 countries and 16 regional organizations. The Palestinian government presented a $2.8 billion reconstruction plan, and donors pledged $4.5 billion — yet actual disbursements barely exceeded 30% of pledged amounts, primarily because Palestinian political division made it impossible to verify spending flows in Gaza.
Today, as we face another donor conference following the catastrophic 2014 summer war, history appears to be repeating itself with heartbreaking precision: military campaign, devastation, donor conference, pledges, implementation failures.
For this conference to differ from its predecessors, missing conditions must be addressed: Palestinian national reconciliation as a prerequisite for disbursement; establishment of independent international monitoring mechanisms; and binding commitments from Israel to lift the blockade — without which any reconstruction will be dismantled by the next military campaign. The Palestinian people in Gaza need fundamental structural changes, not another round of pledges that salve the international community's conscience while leaving root causes intact.
Topic: Gaza Reconstruction — Donor Aid · Gaza Politics · Reconstruction · International Community · Aid Governance — Original source