UK hosts talks on Gaza reconstruction
Dozens of top officials from Middle East and European nations have huddled with leading global financial institutions for talks in the United Kingdom on rebuilding the devastated Gaza Strip.
The aim of the three-day conference is to start the “crucial planning and coordination efforts for post-war Gaza” that would be Palestinian-led, the UK prime minister’s office said in a statement.
“We must be ready to act – to clear rubble, rebuild homes and set up infrastructure, restoring access to education and healthcare,” Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said.
“We know the scale of the task. We know how urgent it is, and how complex it will be,” he added, highlighting that it “will take years and cost billions”.
The UK government said the talks brought together “representatives from businesses, civil society and governments to convene crucial planning and coordination efforts for post-war Gaza”.
The Palestinian Authority was represented along with officials from countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Italy.
I thought Trump wanted the Arabs to pay for reconstruction, why is UK handing out the contracts...
Egypt attendees believed to have objected to Netanyahu coming
Let’s talk about who didn’t attend the Gaza peace summit because that caused quite a kerfuffle earlier in the day.
Of course, we knew Hamas was not going to be attending. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not expected to attend the summit either.
But several hours ago it was reported he had been invited as well. Then it was reported the Israeli leader had agreed. But then it was reported in the Israeli press that Netanyahu’s office stated he would not attend because it is close to a religious holiday.
There’s been no official response about this, but there’s been a lot of speculation here that perhaps some of the attendees who were on their way to Sharm el-Sheikh objected privately to the Trump administration, and said maybe they wouldn’t show up if Netanyahu were to be there.
With Trump business deals come first. Netanyahu and Hamas excluded.
