GAZA STRIP - Israel must lift its ban on materials to rebuild Gaza after its offensive in a territory resembling "hell on earth " where children have to sleep outside shattered homes, the European Union's Middle East envoy said in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
"What encouragement to terrorism, would it be if the community is without proper sewage system, have clean water, have kids going to school, have clinics that work, have mothers delivering their babies in safe conditions." Marc Otte asked following Operation Cast Lead - Israel's devastating 22-day assault in the Hamas-ruled territory.
While Israel has opened Gaza's border crossings to larger amounts of food and medicine, it has so far balked at letting in construction materials, including glass, steel and cement, needed to rebuild the thousands of Palestinian homes, roads and buildings destroyed or damaged during the war.
"We just want that Gaza looks less like hell than it's looking now," Otte said. "I hope we see flexibility soon because it's not acceptable to simply say to people that for political reasons they and their children have to sleep outside."
Israeli officials say materials presently blocked could be used by Hamas to build rockets, bunkers and smuggling tunnels, and that a big reconstruction campaign would strengthen Hamas's hold on power at the expense of the Palestinian Authority.
"We're not going to rebuild Hamas's headquarters or provide weapons," Otte said. "Nobody wants Hamas to be legitimised unless they comply with certain practical and political conditions. But they're still going to be there. Reconstruction should not be mixed.
Source: Reuters