By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM
A tripartite "mechanism" involving Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and United Nations is currently in the pipeline to oversee the flow of construction materials into the embattled Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Tuesday.
Speaking to local reporters, Ya'alon said he did not expect a re-eruption of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza since Hamas, he asserted, appeared to be preoccupied with rebuilding the devastated enclave.
During its recent 51-day onslaught, the Israeli army damaged 15,671 housing units across the Gaza Strip, including 2,276 that were totally destroyed, according to official Palestinian figures.
More than 2,150 Gazans, meanwhile, mostly civilians, were killed – and 11,000 injured – in unrelenting Israeli attacks.
The Israeli offensive came to an end on August 26 with the announcement of an indefinite cease-fire.
The truce deal, brokered by Egypt, calls for reopening Gaza's border crossings with Israel – effectively ending the latter's seven-year blockade of the coastal territory – and expanding the area open to Palestinian fisherman to six miles off the Gaza coast.
According to the agreement's terms, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators will resume indirect talks on other core Palestinian demands – including the release of prisoners and the establishment of a Gaza seaport – later this month.
According to Ya'alon, Israel has already eased the movement of goods into Gaza without waiting for the second round of Cairo talks, which he believes will resume on schedule.
www.aa.com.tr/en
