GAZA, Aug 9 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's Al-Rahma International Charity (AIC) embarked here Monday upon implementing the first project of its kind, funded by Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for rebuilding 100 houses that were razed during the Israel's war on the coastal enclave late 2008.
Chief Al-Rahma's bureau in Gaza Kamal Meslih told KUNA here today that implementing the USD 64-million project would be through staged paying of sums of money to the beneficiary party in what make it abides by finalizing every construction stage separately in order to get the money due for the following one.
Meslih pointed out that the minimal floor space would be 90 square metres, estimating that the average cost of house would be USD 35,000.
He also made clear that this sum of money is sufficient for building a self-contained well-equipped house, addding that, "AIC insisted upon building on the same land on which the demolished house was standing in order to ensure the return of citizens to their territories and houses and to thwart the schemes of Israeli occupation aiming at depopulating the border areas from the Palestinians." He said that this project -- which is carried out in cooperation with the Palestinian Housing Council and under the supervision of the dismissed Palestinian Ministry of Public Works -- would last for a whole year.
Owner of the demolished house would get a priority in the project if there is a martyr or more among his family members, according to Meslih.
"The remarkable availability of building materials at reasonable prices in the Gaza prompted the AIC and the IDB to implement this project which would be the first of its kind since the end of war on the strip," he said, pointing out that AIC would carry out a lot of similar projects in the coming period.
He also affirmed that AIC attaches special importance to the file of reconstrucing the strip and that this was represented in funding and executing two projects for reconsolidating and rehabilitating the buildings partially afflicted from the Israeli war.
Meslih expected for the project to have a extensive positive effect on the coastal enclave and to motivate a lot of international institutions, especially the Arab and Islamic ones to finance similar projects, under the increasing suffering of those afflicted and displaced as a result of war who are estimated at dozens of thousands.
He also drew attentions that that AIC chose to carry out a project of rebuilding whole houses due to the heavy financial burdens ensuing from continuous paying of tenancy fees as well as other pecuniary sums by the afflicted.
This project would benefit those afflicted from war who owned a one-storey house and who did not have a substitutes for their demolished houses.
Meslih noted that AIC is about to finalize in the coming two weeks a project of supporting and rehabilitating 400 of the total 1,000 houses that were partially demolished during the war and that AIC pledged to fix through a budget exceeding USD 4.1 million funded by Kuwaiti donors.
He also expressed his thanks for Kuwait represented by H.H. the Amir, the government and people for their standing for and munificent support and continuous support of the Palestinians in all areas.
Meslih added that, "the project was carried out in all Gaza strip five governorates, making clear that all the owners of partially demolished houses have returned to their houses following finalizing their repair." Meslih also made clear that AIC carried out a project for rehabilitating 300 houses and removing the rubble left from hundreds of demolished houses and buildings last year with a finance of USD 2.1 million paid by IDB.
More than 1400 Palestinians have fallen during the Israeli war on Gaza by the end of December 2008, while more than 5600 others were injured with dozens of thousands of houses, buildings and installations razed or gutted out. - Kuna