Palestinian children take cover from the rain as they stand atop the ruins of a house destroyed in the most recent war, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Nov. 4, 2014.
Here is a (slightly paraphrased) summary of Haaretz article discussing the reasons why reconstruction in Gaza would take at least 20 years:
Gaza is still under siege. Currently, there’s only one crossing operating in Gaza (Kerem Shalom) through which construction materials enter
The quantities of the materials approves are far from sufficient; Gaza is thought to need about 6,000 tons of cement a day, however, only about 40 truckloads of cement, iron and gravel are allowed entry every day
The supervisory process is so long and cumbersome; anyone whose house was damaged must submit an application detailing the scope of the damage and the amount of compensation sought. Representatives of the UN Office for Project Services, which is in charge of supervising the reconstruction, must then visit the house, reassess the damage, estimate the amount of construction materials needed and send a detailed list to the PA and Israel. The latter must approve both the project and the amounts
Construction inputs are transferred to Gaza via a company owned by the PA’s Palestine Investment Fund and stored in the warehouses of two major dealers only
These warehouses are under round-the-clock supervision by both inspectors and closed-circuit cameras and are protected by high walls built especially for this purpose
Mechanized equipment like bulldozers and diggers, are subject to a separate supervisory protocol which includes installing GPS trackers in the vehicles so their movements can be monitored to ensure they aren’t being used to dig tunnels
Factories that make concrete blocks must install closed-circuit cameras, which must be connected to the Internet and have backup batteries so they can function even during a power outage
Such factories must also install a special computer program to track the quantity of raw materials they receive and the number of blocks they produce
After installing this expensive equipment, the factory must get a UNOPS inspector to certify that it has met the requirements. The inspector’s report is then sent to Israel for final approval, along with the factory owners’ names
Without Israel’s approval, the factory can’t operate and UNOPS would shut it down if the factory tries to sell products without Israel’s agreement
Keep in mind that the number of houses which were completely destroyed or severely damaged by the latest Israeli war is 18,000 housing units, which leaves approximately 108,000 Gazans homeless on top of the 12,000 who are still displaced from Israel’s 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead, according to the UN.
So in short, Israel bears direct and full responsibility for the pace of reconstruction as it is responsible for either approving or rejecting any construction materials to be allowed into the strip, as well as any construction process to begin taking place.
This is not to say that Israel is desired to be more supportive of those living in the Gaza Strip or that it is expected to show a shade of sympathy for those it classifies as “civilians”. However, this is to shed light on and expose yet another sick policy imposed on Palestinians by a fascist ”state” to further their suffocation and suffering under a system of collective punishment, which stands completely unlawful regardless of the many ways in which Israel tries to justify it.
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