Palestinian Factions in Gaza Urge Israel to Lift Restrictions on Reconstruction

Palestinian women during a protest calling for lifting the blockade on Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinian women during a protest calling for lifting the blockade on Gaza. (AFP)
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Palestinian Factions in Gaza Urge Israel to Lift Restrictions on Reconstruction

Palestinian women during a protest calling for lifting the blockade on Gaza. (AFP)
Palestinian women during a protest calling for lifting the blockade on Gaza. (AFP)

Palestinian factions in Gaza have demanded that Israel lift the restrictions on the reconstruction of the Strip, following the latest round of military escalation in May.

The National and Islamic Forces Committee held a conference on Sunday stating that the Israeli blockade and the closure of crossings are no longer acceptable, and reconstruction must begin.

Committee coordinator Khaled al-Batsh said the forces are giving the ceasefire mediators a chance to end the siege, allow the entrance of construction materials and guarantee freedom of movement.

He warned that if these efforts fail, the Palestinian people will have no choice but to confront the Israeli occupation to regain their “right to dignity and freedom.”

He stressed the need to end the continuous human suffering that affects all groups, namely those with chronic diseases, in light of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Batsh called for urgent regional and international action to open the Gaza Strip crossings, end the suffering and allow the entrance of reconstruction materials.

Israel has severely restricted the movement across the Gaza crossings with the eruption of clashes with armed factions in Gaza on May 10.

Egypt brokered a ceasefire agreement to end the 11-day conflict, which killed more than 250 Palestinians and 13 Israelis and led to extensive destruction of homes and infrastructure in the enclave.

Later, Israel allowed a partial opening of the crossings and the entry of basic humanitarian aid while maintaining broad restrictions on imports, including the access of construction materials and export operations, according to Palestinian sources.



Borrell: Israel Committing ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell collects the Charles V European award (EPA)
Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell collects the Charles V European award (EPA)
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Borrell: Israel Committing ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell collects the Charles V European award (EPA)
Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell collects the Charles V European award (EPA)

The former EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has launched a blistering attack on Israel, accusing its government of committing genocide in Gaza and “carrying out the largest ethnic-cleansing operation since the end of the second world war in order to create a splendid holiday destination.”

According to The Guardian newspaper, Borrell also criticized the bloc’s failure to use all the means at its disposal to influence Israel, saying expressions of regret were simply not enough.

As he collected the Charles V European award in front of dignitaries including King Felipe in south-west Spain on Friday, the former EU chief said the horrors Israel had suffered in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 could not justify the horrors it had subsequently inflicted on Gaza.

“We’re facing the largest ethnic cleansing operation since the end of the second world war in order to create a splendid holiday destination once all the millions of tons of rubble have been cleared from Gaza and the Palestinians have died or gone away,” he said in a characteristically direct speech.

Last February, US President Donald Trump suggested that nearly two million Palestinians should be relocated from battle-leveled Gaza to new homes elsewhere so that the US could send troops to the Strip, take ownership and build the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

“You build really good quality housing, like a beautiful town, like some place where they can live and not die, because Gaza is a guarantee that they’re going to end up dying,” Trump told reporters after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House.

Borrell accused Israel of violating all the rules of conflict and of using the starvation of Gaza’s civilian population as a “weapon of war.”

“Three times more explosive power has been dropped on Gaza than was used in the Hiroshima bomb,” he said.

“And for months now, nothing has been getting into Gaza. Nothing: no water, no food, no electricity, no fuel, no medical services. That’s what Netanyahu’s ministers have said and it’s what they’ve done.”

He added: “We all know what’s going on there, and we’ve all heard the objectives stated by Netanyahu’s ministers, which are clear declarations of genocidal intent. Seldom have I heard the leader of a state so clearly outline a plan that fits the legal definition of genocide.”