Publication
Omar Shaban Ismail · Al Rai Media · 2009
Written after Israel's Operation Cast Lead (2009), this Al Rai Media analysis examines the political tug-of-war between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Arab donors, and Hamas that delayed Gaza's reconstruction despite urgent humanitarian needs — 21,000 homes damaged, 80 schools destroyed. Shaban argues reconstruction cannot be held hostage to governance disputes.
Written after Israel's Operation Cast Lead (2009), this Al Rai Media analysis examines the political tug-of-war between Israel, the Palestinian Authority…
Written in 2009, in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead — Israel's 22-day war on Gaza that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians and destroyed significant civilian infrastructure — this analysis examines the tension between the urgent humanitarian need for reconstruction and the political maneuvering by multiple actors seeking to use reconstruction as a tool of influence.
The political tug-of-war over Gaza reconstruction in 2009 involved at least four sets of actors. Israel insisted that reconstruction proceed only through mechanisms that would prevent Hamas from benefiting politically or materially. The Palestinian Authority sought to ensure that reconstruction went through its institutions, thereby restoring its institutional presence in Gaza. Arab donor states, led by Egypt, wanted reconstruction to proceed but under conditions that would weaken Hamas's governing position. And Hamas insisted that any reconstruction that bypassed its administrative structures was an attempt at collective punishment and regime change by other means.
The humanitarian needs were urgent and unambiguous: 21,000 homes damaged or destroyed, 80 schools damaged, 5,000 people left homeless in winter. Water infrastructure, power lines, and sewage systems needed immediate repair. Children were living in rubble.
The political tug-of-war delayed this humanitarian response for months. International donors, meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh in March 2009, pledged $4.5 billion for Palestinian reconstruction — but attached conditions about governance and Hamas that slowed disbursement to a fraction of the pledged amount.
The fundamental conclusion is that Gaza's population cannot be held hostage to political disputes about which authority administers reconstruction. Humanitarian needs exist independently of political outcomes. The failure to separate these two questions in 2009 condemned Gaza's population to another year of living in damaged homes while political actors debated governance arrangements.
Topic: Gaza Reconstruction — post-war reconstruction · humanitarian needs · political divisions · donor aid — Text © Al Rai Media — archived here with attribution to the source. — Original source