Protesters in Gaza want faster home rebuilding

Dozens of Palestinians demonstrated in Gaza on Monday calling for faster rebuilding of their homes that were destroyed last summer in an Israeli military offensive.

The protesters, most of them considered displaced, gathered before the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, called for a speed-up of the pace of reconstruction.

Adham Abu Selmeyah, the spokesman of Palestinian Committee to Defy the Israeli Siege, told reporters that the demonstration aims at sending a message to the international community to show real commitment to Gaza and its people.

"Seven months has passed since the end of the Israeli war on Gaza and unfortunately nothing has changed," he said. "There are tens of thousands of houses that were destroyed and UNRWA is not doing its best to help."

The demonstrators called on the Arab League and international donors to fulfill their commitments made at a donors conference held in Cairo on Oct. 12, including a pledge of 5.4 billion U.S. dollars for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.

The 50-day Israeli military offensive killed 2,200 Palestinians, wounded 11,000 others, and resulted in major destruction to

Gaza's infrastructure and other facilities.

The UNRWA has stopped paying compensations for displaced families either to rent houses or renovate their partially destroyed ones, citing a lack of funding as many donors had failed to honor their pledges. Endit