Gaza reconstruction: Palestine calls on India to lead rebuilding efforts

Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said Gaza needs urgent assistance in view of widespread destruction caused by Israels military operations since October, 2023. We would like India to continue its humanitarian assistance, not only in Gaza and the West Bank, but also towards UNRWA.

Palestine on Thursday urged India to play an active role in the reconstruction of war-ravaged Gaza and to support the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said Gaza needs urgent assistance in view of widespread destruction caused by Israel's military operations since October, 2023. Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli cities on October 7, 2023 killing about 1,200 people. Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement late last year. Shahin is in New Delhi to participate in the second India-Arab League foreign ministers' meeting to be held on Saturday. At a media interaction, the Palestinian foreign minister spoke about the importance of India in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in view of reports that around USD 110 billion is needed to rebuild the Gaza Strip. ''In that regard, we look forward to India's participation actively, we know it will. We would like it to continue participating in the reconstruction efforts. It has done a lot in easier times, what is needed now is more in more difficult times,'' Shahin said. ''We would like India to continue its humanitarian assistance, not only in Gaza and the West Bank, but also towards UNRWA. (India) has upped its contribution to UNRWA and UNRWA, for us, is a lifeline to the Palestinian refugees and UNRWA's operations need to continue,'' she said. Shahin noted that UNRWA was created to cater to Palestinian refugees and is mandated by the UN. ''We want humanitarian assistance to start entering (Gaza) unimpeded. Until today, humanitarian assistance is not entering in the amounts that were approved. It is more than what it was before, but it's still not close to what is needed. So the needs in Gaza are enormous,'' she said. To a question on reports that Hamas had established links with Pakistan-based terror groups, Shahin said Palestine condemns all forms of violence. ''We condemn all forms of violence and any relation with anybody that espouses violence. We in Palestine espouse non-violence and we espouse international law, period,'' she said. In sync with its long-held policy, India has been pushing for a two-state solution to the Palestine issue. Shahin also talked about ''annexation'' of Palestinian land and encroachment since Palestinian signed the Oslo Accords. ''It's not like anything that happened in the past. Everybody has seen the killing, the destruction, the injuries, the wiping off of communities. Whole areas were obliterated,'' she said.

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