GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A new episode of Palestinian political division between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas has reared its head, this time through the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip file. Two separate committees — the first affiliated with the PA, the second with the Hamas-run Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza — are working to limit the damages inflicted by the recent Israeli war on Gaza between May 10 and May 21, amid a conflict between the two parties over the supervision of the reconstruction process.
The PA, with the support of the international community — United States, European Union and United Nations — is seeking to pump donor funds into its treasury to oversee the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, amid US and Israeli insistence on keeping Hamas away from the reconstruction process.
Minister of Social Development in the Ramallah government Ahmed Majdalani said in statements to Egyptian media June 2 that a national committee affiliated with the PA has begun assessing the damages caused by the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
However, Naji Sarhan, undersecretary of the Hamas-run Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza, told Al-Monitor that his ministry’s staff have already completed 40% of the assessment process, with losses estimated at $150 million so far, and the total cost of the damage is likely to reach $400 million.
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