France, Germany, Italy, UK welcome Arab plan for Gaza rebuild
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the UK say they support the Arab-backed plan for the rebuilding of Gaza that would cost $53bn and avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave.
The foreign ministers of the four countries have issued a joint statement in support of the Arab initiative for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, adopted at an emergency summit in Cairo earlier this week.
“The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza”, the statement reads.
“We are clear that Hamas must neither govern Gaza nor be a threat to Israel any more. We explicitly support the central role for the Palestinian Authority and the implementation of its reform agenda”, the statement adds.
The Arab plan did not explicitly exclude Hamas, but rather called for swift elections to determine control of the Palestinian territories. Hamas welcomed these calls for elections days ago, signalling they may be acceptant of stepping down from control of Gaza.
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