Hamas, Fatah draw up plan for post-war reconstruction of Gaza

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and the social democratic party Fatah, which plays a major role in the West Bank, are working on a joint plan for post-conflict reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

The main point of the plan was the creation of a ‘committee of Palestinian technocrats’ not affiliated with either party, Caliber.Az reports, citing US media. 

The body's main task would be to manage the ‘distribution of aid and reconstruction’ of the enclave after the end of hostilities.

The publication notes that the consensus reached by Hamas and Fatah on this issue contributes to the plan discussed by the US and Israel, according to which an ‘interim technocratic government’ should be formed in Gaza before elections are held. 

According to a senior Palestinian National Authority (PNA) official, it is likely that this formula will form the basis of a future agreement.

However, the implementation of the Hamas and Fatah plan depends on the success of a ceasefire deal that Israel and the Palestinian movement have been unable to agree on for more than a year. In addition, it is still unclear whether the Jewish state will support the establishment of such a committee in Gaza.

There are hills of rubble where apartment blocks stood, and pools of sewage-tainted water spreading disease. City streets have been churned into dirt canyons and, in many places, the air is filled with the stench of unrecovered corpses.

Israel blames the destruction on Hamas. Its October 7 attack on Israel — in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage — ignited the war. Israel says Hamas embedded much of its military infrastructure, including hundreds of kilometres (miles) of tunnels, in densely populated areas where some of the heaviest battles were fought.

Rebuilding Gaza's shattered homes will take at least until 2040 but could drag on for many decades, according to a U.N. report released in May.

The United Nations has warned that removing 40 million tonnes of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel's bombardment could take 15 years and cost between $500-600 million.

By Khagan Isayev