Algeria offers $200 million to rebuild Gaza

Algerian President said Tuesday his country will donate $200 million to help rebuild the Gaza Strip after the devastating Israeli offensive which killed more than 1,250 Palestinians.

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• President Abdelaziz Bouteflika who attended an Arab economic summit in Kuwait City said the summit had allowed “strengthening Arab ties given the important and fruitful results” of it.
• Bouteflika’s statement came as Arab leaders agreed, at the same summit, to rebuild Gaza and called for a reconciliation of Palestinian factions.
• The summit also demanded that Israel withdraw immediately from the strip and said Israel should be held responsible for any war crimes.
• Secretray-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa said rebuilding infrastructure that has been destroyed in Gaza would be the first priority of Arab governments.
• Saudi Arabia has pledged 1 billion dollars in aid for Gaza while Kuwait promised $ 500 million dollars. The rest of the Arab countries are expected to commit to $500 million in reconstruction funds and humanitarian aid.
• Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimated that the overall physical damage so far amounted to about $1.9 billion including about $200 million of damage to infrastructure.
• According to the bureau, a total of 4,100 homes were totally destroyed and 17,000 others damaged during the war.
• About 1,500 factories and workshops, 20 mosques, 31 security installations and 10 water or sewage pipes were also damaged.