Palestinians slam UN over construction statement
Hundreds of demonstrators in the Gaza Strip have staged a protest outside the headquarters of the United Nations.
Nearly 200 people demonstrated in front of the UN compound in Gaza City on Wednesday after the world body said it was short of funds to spend on reconstructing the coastal enclave, which has seen mass destruction after the latest Israeli war in summer 2014.
The angry protesters burned tires and hurled stones at the compound as they shouted, “We are still homeless!”
Reports said some of the demonstrators tried to storm the compound before being stopped by security forces.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced in a statement that the agency “has exhausted all funding to support repairs and rental subsidies.”
The statement added that “USD 5.4 billion was pledged at the Cairo (aid) conference last October and virtually none of it has reached Gaza. This is distressing and unacceptable.”
International aid agencies had already cautioned that the displaced victims of Israel’s war on Gaza are badly affected by severe weather conditions.
Thousands of homes are in need of repair following the Israeli offensive, which started in early July 2014 and ended in late August.
Nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in the Israeli onslaught. Over 11,100 others, including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people, were also injured.
Some 100,000 people are still homeless in the besieged sliver with UNRWA cautioning that cutting subsidies to displaced people who are now renting alternative accommodation could force large numbers back to UN schools and centers, which are already home to 12,000 people.
Gaza has been blockaded by Israel since 2007, causing a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.
Rebuilding has hardly started in Gaza, while experts say it will take a long time even if the Israeli regime considerably eases its blockade on the territory.
MR/HSN/SS
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