The simple attempt to put people before politics, for a change, by the conference for the reconstruction of Gaza may prove to be too ambitious, as Assem El-Kersh discovers in Sharm El-Sheikh The easy part may be over now that international donors generously pledged to pump almost $4.5 billion to revive the Palestinian economy and rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. The rest will not be that simple. Delegates from 71 countries and 15 world organisations met on Monday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh for "The Conference in Support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza" to launch what is seen by many as a message of hope for the suffering Palestinian people almost six weeks after operation "Cast Lead" wreaked havoc on the besieged Palestinians. Naturally, the complicated realities of the troubled region cast dark shadows on the day-long meeting as a flurry of speakers cautioned that no cash is good enough without security and stability in the occupied Palestinian territories and the absence of a political solution of the Palestinian cause. In his opening address, President Hosni Mubarak told the gathering, which included French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi along with 45 foreign ministers that "All the world's money is not worth the lives of Gaza's martyrs and wounded people." Around 1,440 Palestinians died and approximately 5,000 were injured, mainly women and children, in Israel's recent ferocious offensive on Gaza. Two years of siege, two months of closure and three weeks of bombings have deprived the Gaza Strip of its most basic infrastructure. President Mubarak said: "Just peace will remain the real guarantee to avoid destroying what we will rebuild... Force of arms will never be able to wipe out the resistance and the legal rights of peoples." He cautioned Palestinians against dealing with the incoming donations as "war booty". The general consensus of the statements delivered to the floor for the rest of the day was that money is not necessarily the magic solution to all problems, especially in the Middle East. Many speakers agreed that reconstruction in Gaza is essentially tied to two difficult preconditions: reaching a solid and permanent ceasefire agreement first, and putting an end to Palestinian strife. For now, both seem to be doubtful. After eight hours of meetings, the final communiqué of the donors conference, read out by Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, called for the "immediate, unconditional and sustained re-opening of Israel's crossings with the Gaza Strip." It stressed the crucial need to break the cycle of construction, then destruction in Gaza, and demanded that Israel fully respect its obligations under international law and desist from targeting or damaging the civilian and economic infrastructure of Gaza. The choice of words appeared to be echoing the warning by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa in the opening session about the endless cycle of intentional Israeli destruction of Palestinian resources every other year. The donors, however, might soon discover that their good intentions could ultimately clash with facts that cannot be ignored on the ground. The most serious challenge awaiting all parties is how difficult it will be to reach a political solution and look for guarantees that would deter additional Israeli demolishing of what will be rebuilt by the new money. Moussa told Al-Ahram Weekly he was not sure whether anything was possible unless Israel be "cut down to size" and forced to freeze settlements and its practices subject to international law. "The world cannot condone the Israeli policies of destruction and sabotage. The very clear message of this meeting is that Israel must keep its hands off Palestinian schools, hospitals and homes of the occupied territories." Moussa grudgingly conceded that there were no guarantees Israel would stop its aggression. It will not be strange, then, if some in the region place bets that Israel, in the face of such a show of global unanimity over Gaza, coupled with intensive American participation, will be keen to avoid tension with the new US administration and might think twice before attacking again. In an interview with the Weekly, Benita Ferrero- Waldner, the European commissioner for external affairs, expressed confidence that Europe, together with the Americans and the international community, have the leverage to help stop any renewed destruction. Technically, the conference might have been a complete success when it comes to the sum of money pledged and the wave of optimism it unleashed. Yet, with their pledges declared the donors are virtually endorsing the priorities defined by the early recovery and reconstruction plan for Gaza in which Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad outlined the urgent needs of the Strip's population and the extent of the damage. One major question that went unanswered after the meeting: Who will oversee the reconstruction effort? What role, if any, will Hamas -- the actual power handling the Strip's affairs -- be allowed to play? Hamas was not even invited to the conference and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose visit to Sharm El-Sheikh was her first plunge into the rough waters of the region's politics, sent a clear signal that the Islamist movement should have no say concerning how the money will be dispersed. "We have worked with the Palestinian Authority to install safeguards that will ensure that our funding [$900 million] is only used where and for whom it is intended, and does not end up in the wrong hands." Hamas responded with a sharp denunciation of what it called the "politicisation of a human issue". Moussa wonders why Hamas is being sidelined. They were the absent participant, he told the Weekly. "They and Fatah have to work for reconciliation. Only Israel does not like to see this happening. The best formulae is to have a national consensus government representing all Palestinian factions to oversee the rebuilding process. The money should be directed to Gaza's reconstruction without any conditions."
