Architects' despair over destruction of Palestinian school
Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 04:22PM by Eizabeth Hopkirk 11 August 2014 Building Design
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Before: Children's centre in Gaza by ARCò and MCA Mario Cucinella Architects
Project razed to ground three years after completion
Source: Sobhi Nasser
After: Children’s centre in Gaza by ARCò and MCA Mario Cucinella Architects
The architects who designed a school in Gaza that was described as a “symbol of hope” have expressed their sadness at its destruction during an Israeli ground invasion.
Children’s Land, in the Bedouin village of Um al Nasser, was bulldozed on the night of July 17, less than three years after it opened.
The €180,000 building, which incorporated a 150-pupil school and community centre, was designed by two Italian practices, ARCò – the Architettura e Cooperazione group – and MCA Mario Cucinella Architects, and built by the community in a few weeks using sandbags.
It contained six classrooms, a family counselling space and an infirmary and was developed by Italian NGO Vento di Terra in response to a request from the community. The architects later added a community kitchen which was also destroyed, along with several villagers’ homes.
On July 17 Israeli forces launched an artillery and ground attack on the village which is just 600m from the security fence dividing Gaza and Israel, according to a report in the Washington Post. The entire population fled and the Israelis later said they had “neutralised 17 terrorists” and detained 13 others.
The school was reduced to rubble during the operation but confirmation and photographs have only just reached the architects.
“We’re very sad about the destruction of the school, which for us and for the people of Um al Nasser had become a symbol of hope for a better future,” said Alberto Alcalde of ARCò.
“But its loss is just a grain of sand in the desert of destruction which the whole Gaza Strip has become for the last month.”
More than 1,800 Palestinians have died in the conflict and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
“Since it seems that the operation is still on, the landscape of destruction it will leave at its end in terms of human lives lost, injured or displaced and urban tissue erased is still impossible to be imagined. For those who will survive, the situation post-war remains unclear and certainly terrible,” said Alcalde.
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Israel has caused '$5 billion' (its actually 6 billion-Ed) damage to Gaza homes, infrastructure
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=718079
A Palestinian man inspects the damage following an overnight
Israeli air strike in Gaza City, on July 3, 2014. (AFP/Mohammed Abed)BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel's offensive on Gaza has caused over $5 billion of damage to homes and infrastructure in the Strip, the Minister of Public Works said Monday.
Minister Mufeed al-Hasayneh, a resident of Gaza, told Ma'an that the amount of money is likely to increase as the assault continues.
Some 10,000 homes have been completely destroyed, and 30,000 homes partially destroyed, al-Hasayneh said.
"The three areas that have undergone the most intense destruction are Shujaiyya, Beit Hanoun, and Abasan," the minister said.
Minister Mufeed al-Hasayneh, a resident of Gaza, told Ma'an that the amount of money is likely to increase as the assault continues.
Some 10,000 homes have been completely destroyed, and 30,000 homes partially destroyed, al-Hasayneh said.
"The three areas that have undergone the most intense destruction are Shujaiyya, Beit Hanoun, and Abasan," the minister said.
"Ministry crews were astonished when they arrived to Shujaiyya, where some 110,000 people live. Sixty percent of the homes were completely destroyed, especially those in the eastern part of the neighborhood."
The minister said it would take $5 billion to rebuild structures alone, "not including possessions, like furniture and cars."
"The offensive destroyed buildings belonging to Gaza governorates, in addition to police stations and national security buildings," al-Hasayneh said.
The diesel containers belonging to Gaza's power plant have been destroyed as well, he said.
Al-Hasayneh says the "containers will cost $25 million, and there are ten power lines that supply Gaza with power and have been cut off" as well.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gaza industrial sector hit hard as 134 factories destroyed
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=718526
Palestinians inspect the damage of a destroyed milk factory after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Thursday, July 31, 2014 (Photo: AP)
6 August 2014 Maan News
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Aug — At least 134 factories were destroyed during Israel’s four-week military offensive in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian industrial union said Wednesday, causing severe damage to an already fragile industrial sector. The union of Palestinian industries said that most factories stopped operations for over 30 days, with reported losses of at least $70 million. Over 30,000 workers were made redundant due to the closures.
“The Israeli war machine deliberately destroyed the infrastructure of the Palestinian national economy by targeting factories which posed no security threat to the occupation,” the union said. The industrial sector had already suffered major damage during previous Israeli military offenses in Gaza in 2012 and 2008.
The ongoing Israeli blockade has also severely limited the productivity of the industrial sector since it was imposed eight years ago, forcing factories to close or fire workers to remain in operation. “Israel shouldn’t be rewarded for this aggression, and so Israeli products should be boycotted both locally and internationally,” the union added.
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Official: Israel to allow Gaza rebuilding in exchange for disarmament
5 August 2014 Maan News
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel is willing to agree to the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip in exchange for the disarmament of militant groups there, an official said Tuesday.
Ofer Gendelman told Ma’an that the Israeli government linked the rebuilding of Gaza with disarming factions in the coastal enclave.
Gendelman said that Israel was interested in achieving a lasting ceasefire, but he insisted that it was dependent on Hamas' respect of the current 72-hour truce.
The Israeli assault in Gaza has caused severe damage to the infrastructure in Gaza. Over 10,000 houses, government buildings, universities, mosques, and schools were damaged in a month-long assault.
Also Tuesday, three remaining members of a Palestinian delegation negotiating a longer-term truce in Gaza were on their way to Cairo after entering Egypt through the Rafah crossing, state media reported.
Israel and Hamas halted their fighting in Gaza from 8 a.m. Tuesday after a three-day temporary truce brokered by Cairo went into effect.
Israel also withdrew its troops from the coastal enclave.
The three Palestinian leaders who entered Egypt were Islamic Jihad member Khaled al-Batsh and senior Hamas officials Khalil al-Haya and Emad El-Elmy, said the official MENA news agency.
A joint Palestinian delegation representing President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Islamic Jihad has been in Cairo for the past few days at Egypt's invitation.
Israel earlier refused to send its negotiators, but an official said Tuesday that a team representing it was on its way to Cairo.
The main demands proposed to Egyptian mediators by the Palestinian delegation are a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, the end of the siege of the enclave, and opening its border crossings.
They have also demanded fishing rights up to 12 nautical miles off Gaza's coast and the release of Palestinian prisoners demanded by Hamas and Abbas.
Egyptian mediators are to forward these demands to the Israelis.
Israel's assault on Gaza has killed over 1,800 Palestinians and injured at least 9,000. Gaza's deputy economy minister Taysir Amro said Tuesday that the assault has caused at least $4-6 billion in damages.
Sixty-four Israeli soldiers have been killed and three Israeli civilians.
The majority of those killed in Gaza are civilians, according to UN agencies.
AFP contributed to this report.