PM admits no plans were set for implementing reconciliation
Published today (updated) 18/09/2014 22:45
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=728433

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Thursday
said that no mechanisms had been put in place to ensure the implementation
of the reconciliation agreement signed by Hamas, Fatah, and other parties in
April.

All political parties who signed the agreement are fully responsible for
finding solutions to the currently unresolved problems, he added, urging
factions to hold an emergency meeting to work out solutions.

The remarks are one of the most frank admissions on the part of Palestinian
political leaders that many of the stumbling blocks the national unity
government has faced in the last five months are a direct result of the lack
of foresight on their own part.

Hamdallah's remarks came as he addressed a symposium in Gaza City via
videoconference that was organized by the Gaza-based Press House Foundation.

Despite the lack of planning, however, Hamdallah said that meausres were now
being taken to address the many issues the consensus government is facing.

Hamdallah said that a legal committee had been established to study one of
the most complicated unresolved issues, which is the unpaid wages of around
40,000 Gaza civil servants who used to receive their monthly wages from the
former Hamas government but who have since been replaced.

Donor countries have threatened to cut financial aid to the Palestinian
Authority if the national consensus government paid salaries to Gaza
employees who had been hired by Hamas, Hamdallah added, noting how foreign
intervention was complicating the task of solidying national unity.

He added that an agreement had been reached to postpone discussions about
security in the Gaza Strip for four months, after which a follow-up
committee would be formed to study and suggest solutions for unresolved
security-related issues, including the thorny issue of how to reunify the
currently separate PA and Hamas security forces.

Israel refused to allow Turkish electricity for Gaza

With regards to the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip, Hamdallah said
that the government has been spending 2 million Shekels ($600,000) a day to
buy diesel needed to run the Gaza Strip's sole power plant, which was bombed
by Israel and is running under-capacity.

In addition, Hamdallah government had managed to sign an agreement with the
government of Turkey to get a floating electric power station to the Gaza
coast with the capacity to generate 105 Megawatts.

However, he said that Israel had opposed the idea and there have been
efforts at the international level to convince Israel to allow the power
ship to anchor off the Ashdod coast and supply the Gaza Strip with
electricity.

Israel severely limits Gaza's imports of fuel, leading to recurring
shortages and running blackouts of up to 18 hours a day even in peace time.

Reconstruction to start in October

Regarding the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, devastated after this
summer's Israeli assault that left more than 110,000 homeless, Hamdallah
said that the Palestinian Authority agreed with Israel to allow entry of
construction material into the Gaza Strip under the supervision of the
United Nations beginning in October.

He said that the PA will determine how much construction material will be
needed and UN committees will monitor the entry of material to make sure
those materials will not be used for other purposes.

Private sector companies will import the construction material through
Israel.

Israel has maintained a severe siege on the Gaza Strip since 2006,
preventing almost all imports, exports, and movement of people. It has
previously balked at opening up the borders to allow reconstruction after
the massive devastation Gaza experienced at the hands of Israeli bombs over
summer.

Hamdallah also said that the government of Saudi Arabia had decided to pay
half a billion dollars to be used in rebuilding the war-torn Gaza Strip and
helping displaced families, a top priority for the unity government.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees and the
United Nations Development Program have already started to repair partially
damaged houses in Gaza, according to Hamdallah.

In addition, the national consensus government will pay rent fees for six
months on behalf of Gaza families whose houses have been destroyed.

Hamdallah ended his speech by confirming that he plans to visit the Gaza
Strip after he returns from the United States.

He noted that Israel had denied him entry to Gaza during the war.