CAIRO
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday announced $212 million in U.S. aid for the reconstruction of the embattled Gaza Strip.
"The people of Gaza do need our help desperately, not tomorrow, not next week, but they need it now," Kerry told a Gaza reconstruction conference that kicked off in the Egyptian capital Cairo earlier Sunday.
"I'm pleased to announce an additional immediate $212 million in assistance to the Palestinian people, and obviously we will have to see how things develop in the days ahead," he added.
Kerry went on to say that all parties should "get back to the difficult work not just for the reconstruction and recovery of Gaza, but of actually building Gaza's economy for the long term, and developing its institutions under the Palestinian Authority."
He also reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to the resumption of peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel because "the future of the region demands it."
"Everything else will be a band aid fix, not a long-term resolution," insisted Kerry. "What was compelling about a two state solution a year ago is even more so now."
The one-day conference aims to raise funds for rebuilding the embattled Gaza Strip following Israel's devastating 51-day onslaught on the coastal enclave.
About 30 foreign ministers and representatives of 20 regional and international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, are taking part in the one-day conference, chaired by Egypt and Norway.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi are also taking part.
For seven weeks in July and August, Israel pummeled the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of halting rocket fire from the Palestinian territory.
The offensive left around 2,160 Palestinians dead and some 11,000 others injured – the vast majority of them civilians – while destroying residential structures and infrastructure across the coastal strip.
Israel also destroyed thousands of homes and facilities in the embattled Palestinian territory, creating tough humanitarian conditions for its 1.9 million residents.
The Arab League said earlier this month that it hoped to raise $5 billion at the conference for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Home to 1.8 million Palestinians, the Gaza Strip has reeled under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2006.
The siege was tightened further after Palestinian resistance movement Hamas – labeled a "terrorist group" by Israel – wrested control of the coastal territory from rival faction Fatah in 2007.
www.aa.com.tr/en
