RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said Wednesday that his government is ready with plans to rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip.
“Despite the difficulty of the mission and the complexity of the situation, the government is prepared for Gaza’s reconstruction and continues discussions with all relevant parties to achieve this goal,” Mustafa said at a workshop in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“We will rise from Gaza’s catastrophe toward an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas and through the efforts of our national institutions,” Mustafa added in his comments cited by a statement from his office.
“We want an independent state free of war, occupation, and settlements -- and, God willing, free of unemployment.”
The Palestinian premier said the guarantee for Gaza’s reconstruction begins with “the full restoration of national legitimacy.”
“National civil and security institutions are the components capable of leading recovery, reconstruction, and the unification of institutions to pave the way for an independent state in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.”
Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. The first phase of the deal came into force on Friday.
Under the deal, Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of eight captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza, without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,900 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.