The Government is continuing to press for urgent measures to relieve the humanitarian suffering of those in Gaza. At the Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo in October 2014, Britain promised £20 million for reconstruction and development in Gaza. The Government has fully disbursed this pledge and we will exceed it over the coming months, as it commits residual funds to help businesses back to work. This is in addition to our earlier provision of £19.1 million in UK aid in response to this crisis.
We are also supporting the temporary Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) to facilitate the import of construction materials into Gaza. Over 94,000 people have now been able to buy materials to repair homes that were damaged during the conflict. However, it is concerning that none of the homes that were completely destroyed have been rebuilt yet. Ministers therefore welcome the July 2015 agreement between the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities on the new Residential Stream of the GRM, to allow imports of building materials into Gaza for the reconstruction of homes that were completely destroyed. The UK is calling on all donors to disburse their Cairo pledges without delay so that the pace of reconstruction can increase.
There remains an urgent need for all the parties to reach an agreement that addresses the underlying causes of conflict in Gaza and to take the necessary steps to ensure Gaza’s reconstruction and economic recovery. Any agreement should ensure that Hamas and other militant groups permanently end rocket and other attacks against Israel; the Palestinian Authority resumes control of Gaza and restores effective governance; and that Israel lifts its restrictions to ease the suffering of ordinary Palestinians. The Prime Minister made this clear to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the UK in September this year.
By Patrick McLoughlin on October 15, 2015