Gaza is ready for reconciliation

Gaza’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ziad Zaza, has confirmed that Gaza would not become a separate state in the event of Palestinian national reconciliation, contrary to recent media speculation.“We are ready for genuine national reconciliation,” he said. Speaking exclusively to Arabstoday, Zaza said his government backed ongoing interfactional meetings taking place in Cairo, expressing his hope for a unity government that protects Palestinian rights and resistance and heralds a “true partnership” between Fatah and Hamas. "The role of the government is to protect resistance and be strong in times of escalation and aggression,” Zaza claimed. Reconciliation would therefore involve rebuilding the Palestine Liberation Organisation [PLO] as well as developing a security service capable of protecting the Palestinian people, the Deputy Prime Minister argued. “The occupation has tried to assassinate Palestinian leaders and to destroy Gaza’s infrastructure,” he said. “But it has failed to achieve its goals.” “The Palestinian government is committed to giving priority to all of the needs of the Palestinian people in its next phase," Zaza said, adding that the Gazan administration had already provided some 185,000 permanent jobs, reducing the unemployment rate from 60 percent to 30 percent. Zaza explained that the government would require some $2m a month to phase out unemployment over five years, saying: "We don’t have that money but we are searching for funding." The Gazan government has already approved a project to lend interest-free loans, of up to $10,000, to citizens to encourage the coastal strip's burgeoning small business sector. Expansion has also spread to the health sector, Zaza said. “The government decided to pay $2m for hospitals in the Gaza Strip. It will deliver on this because we are committed to improving medical services.” As Gaza recovers from Israeli’s assault in November, reconstruction has begun. “The occupation destroyed about 5,000 houses, while another 5,000 were partially destroyed,” Zaza said. “Until now, the government has built 2,500 houses while another 1,000 are still under construction.” “In total we have repaired around 4,000 homes,” he added.