UN says three-quarters of Gaza war damage not repaired or rebuilt more than year after battle
By APSunday, May 23, 2010
UN says most Gaza war damage still not repaired
RAMALLAH, West Bank — A U.N. agency says about three-quarters of the damage inflicted by Israel’s war on Gaza more than a year ago has not been repaired or rebuilt.
Israel continues to bar construction material from entering Hamas-ruled Gaza as part of an overall blockade of the territory.
The U.N. Development Program said in a report Sunday that Gazans have carried out small-scale repairs worth $173 million with recycled rubble or material smuggled through border tunnels.
The report says the international community has been largely sidelined in the reconstruction effort. The U.N. can do little because it refrains from buying smuggled goods.
Israel says it bans construction material to prevent it from being used by Hamas for military purposes.
