Palestinians needs $2.8 billion to rebuild Gaza

Palestinians break up pieces of rubble with hammers to retrieve iron rods and other salvageable materials, in the devastated area east of Jebaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009.

Rival Palestinian governments presented competing plans Wednesday that estimated the total cost for rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza at roughly $2.8 billion in foreign aid.

The moderates, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, believe they can raise the full amount at an international donation conference for Gaza next week in Egypt. The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated earlier that they expect to give about $900 million while Saudi Arabia has already promised $1 billion in contributions.

However, Gaza faces a slight problem when it comes to receiving the aid. Gaza would need both open borders and an internationally accepted government for reconstruction to move forward smoothly. At the moment, Gaza has neither.

Hamas is Gaza’s current government and is widely shunned as a terrorist group. What could hurt Gaza’s progress even more is the fact that Gaza has been cut off from the world since militants seized the territory in June 2007.

In the absence of a unity deal, the rival Palestinian governments have moved ahead with separate plans for rebuilding the remains of Gaza.

In the West Bank, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Wednesday that he cited detailed damaged assessments and would ask donor countries for $2.8 billion in aid for Gaza.

Fayyad has proposed sending construction money directly to the bank accounts of owners of destroyed homes and other Gaza beneficiaries. Fayyad said he will present further details on his reconstruction plan to representatives of 80 donor countries Monday at a convention in Egypt.

"From positive talks with the donors, I expect the donations to exceed the required figures," Fayyad said, but declined to give details.

But Fayyad’s plan wasn’t enough for Hamas because they completed their own reconstruction plan Wednesday. The plan calls for an approximate $2.73 billion in foreign aid. Planning Minister Mohammed Awad of Hamas said the document would be sent to the Arab League along with other potential donors, including international aid agencies.

Hamas' strongman from Gaza Mahmoud Zahar

The authors add the warning that all timetables in the plan are "based on opening the borders."

Even though more than five weeks have passed since the end of the war, most Gazans are homeless and are still scrambling for basic necessities.

Amid the number of homes demolished by Israeli armies are people that line up every day for handouts of blankets, tea kettles, toothbrushes and other necessities. Most have rented temporary apartments with money given to them by the Hamas government or U.N. agencies, while others have squeezed into relatives' homes.

Palestinians stand outside a destroyed house in the devastated area east of Jebaliya in the northern of Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009.

Yet prospects for getting sufficient supplies into Gaza appear dim as well. International donors have not come up with an agreed plan, and it's not clear who would lead the reconstruction effort.

Israel is not allowing cement, steel and pipes into Gaza because it fears that Hamas militants will use those materials to build bunkers and rockets. Once reconstruction begins, Israel has proposed to work directly with international agencies on various projects to make sure each shipment is accounted for.