Abbas meets Egyptian and Arab League officials ahead of Gaza conference

The Palestinian Authority hopes that the move by the new unity government to assume control over Hamas-dominated Gaza will encourage donors to be less wary of providing reconstruction funds.

By REUTERS
Abbas meets Egyptian and Arab League officials ahead of Gaza conference
Palestinian Authority  President Mahmoud Abbas met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Araby in Cairo on Saturday ahead of Gaza's aid conference which will be held in Cairo on Sunday.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to take part in the donor conference On Sunday along with officials from dozens of countries who are expected to pledge their contribution to rebuilt Gaza after destructive seven-week war.
The Palestinian Authority hopes that the move by the new unity government to assume control over Hamas-dominated Gaza would encourage donors to be less wary of providing reconstruction funds.
But it remains unclear how generous they will be, given the lack of progress in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the risk that hostilities could erupt again, destroying whatever has been rebuilt.
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Al-Hamdallah has put the full cost of reconstruction at about $4 billion over three years in Gaza, where an estimated 18,000 homes were destroyed and infrastructure badly damaged during the seven-week war.