Hussein Al-Sheikh Discusses Preparations for the Gaza Reconstruction Conference with Abdel Aati

SadaNews - The Palestinian Vice President, Hussein Al-Sheikh, met today, Sunday, with Egypt's Foreign Minister, Badr Abdel Aati, to discuss preparations for the upcoming conference on the reconstruction, recovery, and development of the Gaza Strip, scheduled for next November.

This came in a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following a phone call between Al-Sheikh and Abdel Aati.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated that the phone call between both sides addressed the latest developments in the Palestinian arena, alongside the ongoing preparations for holding the "Early Recovery, Reconstruction, and Development Conference in Gaza."

Both sides emphasized the importance of ensuring the necessary international funding for reconstruction and recovery efforts, which meet the needs of the Palestinian people, in light of the extensive destruction caused by the Israeli genocide in Gaza over the past two years, according to the statement.

Egypt is organizing the conference as part of the Arab-Islamic plan established last March for reconstruction in Gaza without displacing Palestinians, taking five years with an estimated cost of about 53 billion dollars.

The call also addressed the efforts being made to achieve reconciliation among Palestinian factions and unify the Palestinian stance during this critical phase, contributing to strengthening the Palestinian position and elevating the higher national interest.

Al-Sheikh and Abdel Aati discussed the reforms undertaken by the Palestinian Authority, in addition to the constitutional declaration issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as a step aimed at organizing the next phase and activating the institutions of the Palestinian state.

The constitutional declaration stipulates that "if the position of the President of the National Authority becomes vacant in the absence of the Legislative Council, the President of the Palestinian National Council will temporarily assume the duties of the President of the National Authority for a period not exceeding 90 days," during which there will be "free and direct elections to elect a new president (for the Palestinian Authority) according to election law."

Abdel Aati stressed his country's continued support for the Palestinian Authority and its efforts to achieve national unity and rebuild the Gaza Strip, which contributes to enhancing security and stability and fulfilling the aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state along the 1967 June 4 lines, with Jerusalem as its capital.

On Friday, Palestinian factions announced in a statement that they agreed during a meeting held in Cairo to hand over the management of the Gaza Strip to a temporary committee of technocrats from the sector.

The meeting was called by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, whose first phase went into effect on October 10 of this month, according to the private "Cairo News" channel.

The statement did not mention the Palestinian factions that participated in the meeting, but several factions were present in Cairo on Thursday, holding extensive meetings at both collective and bilateral levels, according to the same source.

Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement on October 9, based on a plan by U.S. President Donald Trump, and the first phase of the agreement went into effect the following day.

This phase included the declaration of the end of the war, the withdrawal of the Israeli army to what was termed the "yellow line," the return of living and dead Israeli prisoners, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

The second phase of the agreement, which has not yet been agreed upon, is supposed to include the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in the sector, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the area, disarmament of Hamas, and the establishment of a temporary administration under the new international transitional body in Gaza called the "Peace Council" chaired by Trump.

The United Nations estimates the cost of reconstructing Gaza at about 70 billion dollars, due to the repercussions of two years of Israeli genocidal warfare supported by the U.S., which, along with the massive material destruction, led to the death of 68,519 Palestinians and the injury of 170,382 others.