Gaza to import building materials

The organization in charge of reconstruction in Gaza has placed orders for construction materials to international bodies to help break the Israeli siege on the coastal strip.

Israel waged a 22-day war on the Gaza Strip during the winter of 2008-2009, which not only caused a nation-wide destruction but also proved that Israel actually committed a massacre.

Afterwards, the international community pledged millions of dollars to the restoration of Gaza. But only a tiny fraction of that money has actually been delivered, a Press TV correspondent reported on Wednesday.

Thousands of victims of the Israeli military action titled “Operation Cast Lead” are still living in tents while Gaza still remains subject to a crippling joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

The Palestinian side of the Egypt-Gaza border remains closed to the free flow of people and goods. This means that the Palestinians are forced to transfer essential items through cross-border tunnels.

But now there is a new Palestinian-international initiative to lift the siege of Gaza once and for all.

“This the first time we are doing this experiment. Up until now, all the cement that has entered Gaza has not been through official channels. But now we want the cement to come in officially,” said Kanan Obaid, the chairman of Gaza Engineers Union.

“By doing this, we can break the siege of Gaza. Gaza will be free once again,” he added.

At a meeting between Palestinian engineers and international humanitarian organizations, the Palestinians insistently said that they did not want to rely solely on handouts. So they agreed to pay for 10 tons of cement to enter Gaza via the Rafah border with Egypt.

The Gazans are hoping to test whether Egypt has really changed after the last month fall of President Hosni Mubarak’s regime, widely considered to be collaborating with Israel against Palestinians.

A truck loaded with cement is due to leave Cairo for the Rafah border in the next few weeks. The Palestinians say that if the cargo is allowed through, they will order a much more substantial amount to seriously rebuild their ruined homes.