Gaza tunnel closures hamper reconstruction

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PressTV - Gaza tunnel closures hamper reconstruction:

Tue Feb 8, 2011 10:14PM
Ashraf Shannon, Press TV, Gaza

"Tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt have been closed for over two weeks now, hampering reconstruction efforts in the besieged coastal enclave.

This was highlighted in a report released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

According to the report, the political unrest in Egypt has had a negative effect on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The prices of many consumer goods have skyrocketed since the tunnels closed. And the cost of vital building materials has doubled, leaving many Gazans with unfinished homes.

Much of Gaza is still in ruins after Israel's 22 day war at the turn of 2009, which left 60,000 buildings damaged and more than 4,000 destroyed.

Israel's ban on importing cement, steel and gravel means that all construction work in Gaza must rely on materials smuggled through the tunnels.

In an international donors' conference for the reconstruction of Gaza held in Egypt in March 2009, 4.5 billion U.S. dollars was raised but up until now none of that money has been forthcoming.

The Hamas government has done its best to repair homes by improvising from existing materials, but now even their efforts have come to a standstill as building materials have become almost non-existent.

The siege which was imposed in 2006 by Israel and Egypt on the strip, was tightened one year later when Hamas came to power in Gaza as a method to pressure the Hamas-led government.

Experts believe that the international community should now take a clear and decisive action to lift the siege permanently for Gazans to have the flow of their basic necessities.



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