Itongadol.- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said on Monday that the international effort to rebuild Gaza will be "quick and efficient".
Ban arrived earlier in the West Bank city of Ramallah for a two-day visit during which he will meet with Israeli and Palestinian leadership and visit Gaza Strip where rebuilding efforts in the wake of a devastating war are gathering pace.
Ban, who attended a Gaza reconstruction conference in Egypt on Sunday, is expected to urge Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiation table to achieve a peace agreement and push for advance construction efforts in Gaza.
"I travel to the region then to contribute to the international effort to stop the fighting. This time I\’m here with a message of hope, the hope of rebuilding Gaza and creating a brighter future for the people," Ban said at a joint news conference with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.
"The United Nations will make sure that there will be efficient and effective and quick delivery of goods. This will be different from previous one. This has much more broader, comprehensive, mandate and authorization. And therefore I\’m sure that this will be very effectively implemented," he added.
Hamdallah said lifting Israel\’s blockade on Gaza was necessary for its rebuilding.
"I have stressed to Mr. Secretary-General that all the projects and aid will not reach their goals unless Israel lifts the blockade on Gaza immediately and completely, and free the Palestinian national economy from the system of control imposed by Israel on goods, people, trade, export and import," Hamdallah said.
Ban\’s visit comes after US Secretary of State John Kerry who also attended the Cairo conference called for a renewed commitment to achieving Middle East peace, saying a lasting deal between Israel, the Palestinians and all their neighbors could be achieved.
But prospects for a renewed peace process appeared dim as Kerry offered no specifics on how to restart negotiations.
Ban is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later in the day and travel to Gaza on Tuesday.
Gaza reconstruction conference raised more than $5 billion in aid for the Palestinians after a devastating war in the tiny coastal territory.
The last round of US-brokered peace talks foundered in April over Israeli objections to a Palestinian political unity pact that included the Islamist Hamas movement and over Palestinian opposition to Israeli settlement expansion.
The Palestinians have put the cost of reconstruction at about $4 billion and Norway\’s Foreign Minister Borge Brende said the conference had secured $5.4 billion in aid, half of which would be used for rebuilding Gaza and the rest could go to other Palestinian areas.