Agreement To Rebuild Destroyed Homes In Gaza Strip

UN Agencies Sign Agreement To Rebuild Destroyed Homes In Gaza Strip

Two United Nations agencies and the Palestinian Authority have signed an agreement paving the way for the UN to build homes on land donated by the Authority to replace those destroyed during Israeli incursions in Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Funding for the project, run by the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), was contingent on the Palestinian Authority donating the land.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said the agreement, signed yesterday, now allows agencies to move on quickly to the most important task in hand - that of translating the concern of the international community for the people of Rafah into bricks and mortar.

"We can now tap into the generosity of all those individuals who have made donations for the people of Rafah while also approaching the major international donors who wish to help," he said.

According to UNRWA, more than 22,000 people have lost their homes to Israeli demolitions in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the current strife in September 2000. Almost three-quarters - over 15,000 people - were affected in Rafah.

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