An international donors' conference took placed in Cairo in order to talk about the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip.
The conference was a success as they were able to accumulate $5.4 billion in pledges. But the diplomats said that the contributions may be put to waste if there is no concrete diplomatic solution that will break the cycle of violence between both the militant group Hamas and Israel.
According to Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende "The participants pledged approximately $5.4 billion." Adding that the donors "ommitted themselves to start dispersing their assistance as soon as possible in order to bring about rapid improvements to the daily lives of Palestinians."
The largest pledge at the Reconstructing Gaza conference came from Qatar. Foreign Minister Khaled bin Mohammed al-Attiyah promised to contribute $1 billion.
In Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi opening remarks he said "I tell the Israelis, both citizens and government - the time has come to end the conflict without further delay to grant rights and establish justice so that prosperity and security can prevail."
While Secretary of State John Kerry commented "This is the third time in less than six years that together with the people of Gaza, we have been forced to confront a reconstruction effort. This is the third time in less than six years that we've seen war break out and Gaza left in rubble."
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have formed a unity government, but tensions between the two groups remain.
Kerry added "he Palestinian Authority and President Abbas must be empowered in all that we do in order to define and determine Gaza's future. We can and should see Palestinian Authority customs officials at Gaza's borders. We can and should help the P.A. to expand its control in Gaza."
The Gaza Strip is an exclave region of Palestine on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea that borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km (32 mi) border. Gaza makes up part of the Palestinian territories which includes the West Bank, and in 2012 the United Nations General Assembly "accorded Palestine non-Member Observer State status in the United Nations."
