Israeli president stresses importance of rehabilitating Gaza

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday acknowledged the need to rehabilitate the Gaza Strip, which suffered substantial damage in a 50-day Israeli military operation last summer.

At a meeting with Federica Mogherini, foreign affairs chief of the European Union (EU), Rivlin stressed the need to build confidence between Jews and Arabs.

An important part of building that confidence is the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip, Rivlin said.

"We can bring real prosperity to Gaza, which will give residents hope, and build confidence," Rivlin added.

Current estimates put the cost of rehabilitating Gaza at about 7.8 billion U.S. dollars.

Rivlin also underscored the importance of European mediation efforts in restarting negotiations to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Europe has an important role to play in helping bring an end to the conflict," Rivlin said prior to their meeting in Jerusalem.

"This conflict will only come to an end when both peoples understand that we must live together side by side," he added, according to a statement from his office.

Mogherini thanked Rivlin for what she dubbed as his "personal commitment to a message of peace and hope."

"I greatly appreciate your vision of living together and hope that our friends across the world will be able to help in the mission of ending the conflict while ensuring Israel' security," Mogherini said.

Mogherini, a former Italian foreign minister who assumed her current position in November, arrived in Israel for a 24-hour visit early Wednesday.

Prior to the trip, she said her aim was to push for the revival of talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and have Europe assume a greater role in mediating those efforts.

Mogherini met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday, who told her, in the presence of reporters, that he is still committed to a two-state solution and to peace with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu said he supports a demilitarized Palestinian state that acknowledges Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.

He said the government would come up with more initiatives in the coming months to ease restrictions on the Palestinian population living in territories Israel occupied in the 1967 war.

Prior to the March 17 elections, Netanyahu, in his effort to win votes of right-wing supporters, told the Hebrew NRG news website that no Palestinian state will be established on his watch.

Netanyahu has since attempted to backtrack on this statement, following mounting criticism from the international community, especially from the United States.

Netanyahu's fourth government, sworn in last week, includes the nationalist Jewish Home party, backed by settlers which encourage settlement construction while objecting to the two-state solution.

The last series of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which took place between July 2013 and April 2014, came to a halt with Israel blaming the Palestinian Authority for establishing a unity government with Hamas, its archenemy, whereas Palestinians accused Israel of dragging its feet in negotiations and resuming construction in its West Bank and east Jerusalem settlements.

Netanyahu did not specify in his agreements with coalition parties any aspect of reviving the peace talks or the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Israeli media reported Monday that Netanyahu appointed Interior Minister and veteran Likud politician Silvan Shalom as the Israeli negotiator.

While the post was previously filled by dovish Tzipi Livni, Shalom, now from the center-left Zionist Union list, has been quoted by Israeli media in the past as supporting settlement construction and objecting to a Palestinian state. Endit