Abbas Gov`t Announces $600 Mln Gaza Aid Project

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the project would cover all houses destroyed or damaged during a 22-day Israeli military offensive.

The government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas annnounced a $600 million reconstruction programme for Gaza on Wednesday, most of which would be funded by foreign donors.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who heads Abbas's Western-backed government, said the project would cover all houses destroyed or damaged during a 22-day Israeli military offensive.

"The amount of the project is $600 million. Most of it will come from donors," Fayyad said in a speech, adding that the details would be announced in the coming days.

The Gaza Strip is ruled by Hamas Islamists who seized control of the territory from forces loyal to Abbas in 2007 after winning an election the previous year.

Egypt is to host an international conference in coordination with Abbas's Palestinian Authority on March 2 on Gaza reconstruction, whose cost has been estimated at $2 billion. Saudi Arabia has said it would donate $1 billion.

Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged Europe to help with fast aid for the Gaza Strip, saying the reconstruction meeting would require damage assesments and the support of the European Union, the United Nations and others.