6The <strong>National</strong> <strong>Early</strong> <strong>Recovery</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Reconstruction</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Gaza</strong> <strong>2014</strong>State of PalestineFOREWORD<strong>Gaza</strong> is once more in crisis. Seven weeks of bombardment <strong>and</strong> ground incursions have left thous<strong>and</strong>s dead <strong>and</strong> injured <strong>and</strong> half amillion people displaced. The physical destruction is vast in scale. Yet it is the human loss that is truly incomprehensible <strong>and</strong> fromwhich will be the hardest to recover.Palestinians living in <strong>Gaza</strong> have suffered too long <strong>and</strong> too much. They deserve a future that is free from restriction, confinement,<strong>and</strong> destruction. With their resilience, ingenuity, <strong>and</strong> determination, our people in <strong>Gaza</strong> are more than capable of making thecoastal region of Palestine flourish <strong>and</strong> prosper.Full recovery from years of conflict <strong>and</strong> devastation can happen only if <strong>Gaza</strong> is once more connected with the West Bank,including East Jerusalem, <strong>and</strong> all parts of Palestine are once more open to the world. Free movement of people <strong>and</strong> goods willcatalyze <strong>Gaza</strong>, catapulting it from its current crisis into socio-economic sustainability. Freedom of access must be guaranteed.The borders must be opened. Trade must flow. People must travel.The past months have been some of the grimmest in Palestinian history. And, yet, it was not a new experience. Since the Nakbain 1948 until now, Palestinians have been <strong>for</strong>ced through too many dark days. Israeli military action is constant, with massiveassaults in tragic repetition: in <strong>Gaza</strong>, six-year old children have already lived through three major assaults that have robbed themof friends, family, <strong>and</strong> their childhood innocence.But our Palestinian people will continue to move <strong>for</strong>ward towards their dream of an independent, prosperous, <strong>and</strong> peacefulstate, with East Jerusalem as their capital. When <strong>Gaza</strong> last faced such destruction in 2009, Palestinian unity was still a distantdream. Now, our people have achieved that unity, brought together by the <strong>National</strong> Consensus Government, <strong>for</strong>med justweeks be<strong>for</strong>e the assault on <strong>Gaza</strong> began. Our Government will exert all ef<strong>for</strong>ts to recover, repair, <strong>and</strong> rebuild <strong>Gaza</strong> as anintegral region of Palestine.We extend our h<strong>and</strong> to the international community, to our partners in peace <strong>and</strong> our friends in times of need. We challenge theworld to be ambitious <strong>and</strong> daring in helping us realize our dream of prosperity <strong>and</strong> justice in an independent state, free of militaryoccupation. An immediate measure is to end the blockade on <strong>Gaza</strong> <strong>and</strong> ensure our people never again experience the horrors ofthis summer.A brighter future is on the horizon. Give Palestinians in <strong>Gaza</strong> the tools, the opportunities, <strong>and</strong> the freedom to secure that future -here <strong>and</strong> now.Rami HamdallahPrime Minister
7State of PalestineACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis document was prepared by the Palestinian Government’s Higher Inter-Ministerial Committee <strong>for</strong> <strong>Gaza</strong> <strong>Recovery</strong> <strong>and</strong><strong>Reconstruction</strong>, supported by the Inter-Governmental Technical Committee.This <strong>Plan</strong> will be used to consolidate resources <strong>and</strong> responses to help the Palestinian people in <strong>Gaza</strong> rebuild their lives <strong>and</strong>livelihoods. As such, it <strong>for</strong>ms the basis <strong>for</strong> mobilizing resources <strong>and</strong> ef<strong>for</strong>ts at the international conference in Cairo, Egypt onOctober 12, <strong>2014</strong> <strong>and</strong> provides the guiding framework <strong>for</strong> all relief, early recovery, <strong>and</strong> reconstruction interventions.The Government would like to express its appreciation to the institutions that contributed to the development of this plan <strong>and</strong>the rapid damage <strong>and</strong> needs assessment that underpins it, including the line ministries, other Government bodies, the UnitedNations, the World Bank, the European Union (EU), the Office of the Quartet Representative, international <strong>and</strong> national NGOs, <strong>and</strong>the private sector. Special appreciation goes to Egypt <strong>and</strong> Norway <strong>for</strong> organizing the donor conference.As we work together to provide our people in <strong>Gaza</strong> with a better future, we acknowledge the damage that can never be undone<strong>and</strong> the loss that will remain, even when peace <strong>and</strong> prosperity return. We honor the memory of the thous<strong>and</strong>s who have died,we mourn with those left behind, <strong>and</strong> st<strong>and</strong> with those who have suffered the most.Finally <strong>and</strong> with the greatest sorrow, we remember the children: those who have died <strong>and</strong> those who still live, haunted by thehorrors of this assault <strong>and</strong> the other assaults that have overshadowed their childhoods.Mohammad MustafaDeputy Prime MinisterChairman of Inter-Ministerial Committee
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