LONDON: Dozens of top officials from Middle East and European nations huddled Monday with leading global financial institutions for talks in the UK on rebuilding the devastated Gaza Strip.
Far from a high-profile Gaza summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the UK’s foreign ministry quietly brought together Middle East and European officials at an isolated mansion deep in the southern English countryside.
The aim of the three-day conference was to start the “crucial planning and coordination efforts for postwar Gaza” which would be Palestinian-led, the UK prime minister’s office said in a statement.
“We must be ready to act — to clear rubble, rebuild homes and set up infrastructure, restoring access to education and health care,” junior foreign minister Hamish Falconer added in a statement.
“We know the scale of the task. We know how urgent it is, and how complex it will be,” he added, highlighting it “will take years and cost billions.”
The Israeli assault on Gaza — triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel — has left much of the Palestinian territory in ruins and most of its population displaced.
The UK government said the talks in Wilton Park, West Sussex, which is managed by the Foreign Office, brought together “representatives from businesses, civil society and governments, to convene crucial planning and coordination efforts for postwar Gaza.”
The Palestinian Authority was represented along with officials from countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Italy, the UK prime minister’s office said.
Officials from the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development were also attending to support what Falconer called an Arab Reconstruction Plan.
“We must also lay the groundwork for long-term economic development,” Falconer said, insisting that “Gaza and Palestine more broadly, has real economic potential.”
The talks aimed to examine how to “unlock the vast resources needed, not just through traditional donor finance, but by thinking creatively to bring in private capital,” he said.
The UK was well-placed to help, with “deep expertise in private investment and strong links to the City of London,” he added.
UK quietly hosts talks on Gaza reconstruction
https://arab.news/5wqtv
UK quietly hosts talks on Gaza reconstruction
- UK’s foreign ministry quietly brought together Middle East and European officials at an isolated mansion deep in the southern English countryside
- Aim of the three-day conference was to start the “crucial planning and coordination efforts for postwar Gaza” which would be Palestinian-led
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
