This is how much it will cost to rebuild the Gaza Strip. EU, World Bank and UN calculations

We estimate that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip will cost at least USD 71 billion, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday in Brussels. She said that the latest estimates result from an assessment developed jointly by the European Union, the World Bank and the UN.

Kallas, who is taking part in a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), the international committee coordinating development aid for the Palestinians, in Brussels on Monday afternoon, said at a press conference before the meeting that she often hears accusations that the EU applies double standards because it supports Ukraine and does not support Palestine.

– Let me make this clear. Europe is the largest donor and main supporter of the Palestinian Authority. European missions on the ground support Palestinian police, justice, border management and protection. We do not lose sight of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, she said.

The Estonian politician announced that AHLC will focus on Monday on further steps to support the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Kallas admitted that little has changed regarding the two-state solution between Palestine and Israel. The EU foreign policy chief added that according to the latest assessment of damage and needs for the Gaza Strip, made available on Monday by the World Bank, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip will cost at least USD 71 billion.

“We have been working on this assessment for four months together with the World Bank and the United Nations,” Kallas said, adding that it shows the enormity of the task of rebuilding the Gaza Strip.

Asked whether the EU intended to impose sanctions on aggressive Israeli settlers, Kallas admitted that the decision had to be taken unanimously, and that so far 26 member states wanted to impose sanctions and one blocked them. – Now elections have been held in this country and there will be a new government. “I think it's worth seeing if he has a new approach,” Kallas suggested.

From Brussels Jowita Kiwnik Pargana (PAP)

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