US pledges aid to rebuild Gaza

dpa Tel Aviv US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged his country’s help in rebuilding the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, though he stressed that the aid must...

dpa Tel AvivUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged his country’s help in rebuilding the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, though he stressed that the aid must not benefit Hamas, which rules the area.The announcement is part of Blinken’s goal during his trip to the Middle East - set to last through Thursday - to help support a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Territories that has been in place since Friday.He announced the US’ “significant contribution” to Gaza after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Blinken also stressed that tensions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem also needed to be dialled down and advocated renewing relations with the Palestinian Authority (PA). He is scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah later on Tuesday.He also plans to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II this week.The US State Department said before Blinken set off that the goal of the trip was to help cement the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the US, European Union and other countries.Israel is concerned that any aid deliveries to the blockaded coastal territory could be misused to arm Islamist Hamas, as happened after the last Gaza war in 2014. According to media reports, a plan now calls for reconstruction efforts to be conducted more through the PA and to leave Hamas out of the loop. This would reduce the risk of abuse and strengthen the PA vis-a-vis Hamas.Israel and militants in Gaza have so far been keeping to an agreed ceasefire that went into effect early Friday and came about after more than a week of military escalation. In the wake of the recent conflict, there have been significantly more violent incidents in the West Bank.A young Palestinian man was shot and killed during a raid by Israeli security forces in the West Bank in the early hours of Tuesday.A knife attack in Jerusalem, near the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, on Monday left two Israelis injured, while the attacker was shot dead.