CAIRO: Egypt is to host an international conference on March 2 to raise funds to rebuild the Gaza Strip, which was devastated by a 22-day Israeli assault, the foreign ministry announced on Friday. Cairo has undertaken intensive diplomatic contacts with regional and international parties to convene the conference at the level of foreign ministers, ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said. This meeting will focus on what needs to be done in the Gaza Strip as well as the means to secure necessary funds for the reconstruction of the impoverished Palestinian territory, Zaki said. The conference will also tackle the means to respond rapidly to the urgent humanitarian aid needed in Gaza, he added. According to Zaki, Egypt is organizing the conference with full coordination with the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, whose security forces have been driven out of Gaza by Hamas. Zaki did not say however where the conference would take place and who had been invited to attend. But he said political issues linked to Gaza s reconstruction would be on the agenda of the talks, such as the reopening of crossing points leading to the war-battered coastal strip, as demanded by Hamas. Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, home to 1.5 million people, since Hamas took control of the territory after deadly fighting with Abbas s Fatah faction in June 2007. The clashes effectively divided the Palestinian people, with Hamas ruling the Gaza Strip and the Western-backed Abbas s remit limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Authority insists it should oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, while Hamas, which is not recognized by the international community, demands to be part of efforts to rebuild the strip. Israel, however, has said it will cooperate with reconstruction efforts only if Hamas does not lead the process. A tenuous truce between Israel and Hamas has held in Gaza since January 18, after a 22-day offensive launched by Israel to halt rocket attacks from the territory and stop arms smuggling from Egypt. Israel s Operation Cast Lead killed 1,330 Palestinians and wounded 5,450, according to Palestinian medics. The Palestinian Authority says about 4,000 homes were razed and 17,000 damaged, and has estimated overall losses at almost two billion dollars. The United Nations is to launch a $613 million dollar appeal to meet the massive needs of those hit by the Gaza war, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday.
