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World Jewish News
Donor funds should be channeled via PA and 'proven' groups, World Bank says
01.03.2009
The World Bank on Sunday urged donor countries to channel funds for rebuilding the Gaza Strip through the Palestinian Authority and five local organizations with "proven capacity" to undertake projects.
The report was e-mailed a day before the US and other donors were to meet in Sharm e-Sheikh to discuss the rebuilding effort. The Washington-based institution also said Israel needed to ease its blockade of Gaza for the effort to begin.
"Implementation will only be possible if the restrictions blocking the predictable entry of basic material into Gaza, including cement, steel, glass, equipment and spare parts, are lifted," a statement accompanying the report said.
Israel and the US are leading an effort to bypass Hamas, which was the target of Israel's 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip that ended January 18. The Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank and is vying with Hamas for the loyalty of Palestinians, is conducting peace talks with Israel.
The Gaza groups that the World Bank recommended as recipients of donor funds included the Palestinian Water Authority and Municipal Development and Lending Fund, which it said demonstrated "effective financial management." The World Bank report didn't mention Hamas by name and a spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to elaborate.
The World Bank said donors could also send aid through Gaza projects it had been financing, and added that these could be "quickly scaled up" to meet Gaza's immediate needs.
The World Bank backed the Palestinian Authority's estimate that rebuilding would cost about $2.8 billion. Such an effort also required Israel to allow a "steady flow of cash" into Gaza banks, it said.
Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized power in 2007, ending a unity government with the Palestinian Authority. Israel only permits the entry of humanitarian aid, saying materials such as concrete and steel are used by the Islamic group to build military installations and rockets. It has also blocked cash transfers to Gaza, where the shekel is the main currency.
Источник: JPost.com
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