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Gaza Reconstruction Reality Check with Abed Kittana
2.1k Plays22 days ago
Palestinian architect and researcher Abdalrahman Kittana, who has been actively engaged in discussions and initiatives on Gaza’s reconstruction, joins Yara Hawari to examine the various reconstruction plans and their feasibility amid Israel’s ongoing genocide.
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Transcript
Understanding War Reconstruction in Gaza
00:00:00
Speaker
What we are facing in Gaza is not actually a post-war reconstruction, but rather, as I tend to call always, it's an in-war reconstruction or war reconstruction.
00:00:10
Speaker
And beyond the physical destruction, the genocidal war in Gaza, it also targeted the social fabric, which is the core of any effort to rebuilding and sustaining life in and in any place.
00:00:24
Speaker
So rebuilding Gaza is not merely about reconstructing buildings and infrastructure. It's about reconstructing life in Gaza.
00:00:38
Speaker
Rethinking Palestine is brought to you by Ashabaka, the Palestinian policy network. Ashabaka is the only global independent Palestinian think tank whose mission is to produce critical policy analysis and collectively imagine a new policymaking paradigm for Palestine and Palestinians worldwide.
00:00:55
Speaker
For more information or to donate to support our work, visit al-shabaka.org. And importantly, don't forget to subscribe to Rethinking Palestine wherever you listen to podcasts.
00:01:11
Speaker
This podcast was recorded prior to the latest Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, including the March 18th massacre, which was the largest single day child death toll in the last year.
00:01:22
Speaker
While discussing reconstruction and imagining a self-determined Palestinian future for Gaza, ending the genocidal violence remains the absolute priority.
00:01:35
Speaker
At the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, there were already talks around infrastructure reconstruction. Much of it adopted the same frameworks of previous reconstruction processes. Indeed, over the last two decades, Gaza has been subjected to a multitude of Israeli assaults which have resulted in mass destruction, rendering reconstruction necessary.
00:01:54
Speaker
This time, however, the level of destruction and devastation is unprecedented. Over 90% of homes, nearly 70% of all buildings, including schools, hospitals, cultural institutions, archaeological sites, universities, businesses and other vital services have been destroyed, as well as nearly over 65% of the road network.
00:02:16
Speaker
Since the ceasefire between the Israeli regime and Hamas, reconstruction discussions and planning has accelerated. But in typical fashion, much of it is without Palestinian involvement and separated from the wider political context of Israeli occupation and blockade.
Insights from Dr. Abdelrahman Katerni
00:02:32
Speaker
Joining me to discuss this topic is Dr. Abdelrahman Katerni, who is a Palestinian architect and researcher currently serving as a postdoctoral research fellow. at Temperi University in Finland, on leave from his position as an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Beerset University in Palestine.
00:02:48
Speaker
Dr. Katerne has been involved in various initiatives and discussions around reconstruction in Gaza. Abid, thank you for joining me for this episode of Rethinking Palestine. Thank you, Yara.
00:02:59
Speaker
Thanks for inviting me. I want to start off by asking about the concept of reconstruction in Palestine, which we all know is not the typical post-disaster, post-war context that reconstruction usually happens in.
00:03:13
Speaker
Can you tell us a bit more about this? Thank you, Yara. This is a very good question, actually. And it's a typical question whenever we go into discussions with some experts about the conditions in Gaza and post-war reconstruction in Gaza.
00:03:28
Speaker
And indeed, it is not a typical post-war or post-disaster reconstruction for multiple reasons or from multiple angles. I can say, firstly, first of all, the disaster or the war is not has not ended yet, actually, in Palestine. So the war continues.
00:03:46
Speaker
In Palestine, we remain under the control of a settler colonial system whose ultimate objective is to replace one nation with another, to displace the indigenous population and to replace it with settler population.
00:04:03
Speaker
So even if bombardment has ceased for now, the opera oppressive system with all its mechanisms and objectives still exists. And of course, as long as it exists, it constantly threatens the very possibility of resuming life in Gaza, but also in the West Bank and in all over Palestine.
00:04:24
Speaker
In this sense, what we are facing Now, Gaza is not actually a post-war reconstruction, but rather as I tend to call always, it's an in-war reconstruction or war reconstruction. But reconstruction itself as well is part of war now at the moment.
00:04:41
Speaker
From another angle, actually, sure the genocidal war in Gaza targeted the very foundations of life itself. So it intentionally attacked the physical infrastructure, the urban services, and damaged all essentials for survival, including agriculture and other life-sustaining resources.
00:05:05
Speaker
And beyond the physical destruction, it also targeted the social fabric, which is the core of any effort to rebuilding and sustaining life in and in any place.
00:05:16
Speaker
So the ultimate objective and intent was to render Gaza uninhabitable, to make life itself impossible in Gaza. So rebuilding Gaza is not merely about reconstructing buildings and infrastructure.
00:05:33
Speaker
It is about reconstructing life in general. It's about reconstructing life in Gaza. And this, of course, demands a fundamental thinking of how human existence can be re-established in these devastated spaces and cities.
00:05:50
Speaker
And this challenge, of course, extends far beyond the physical realm of reconstruction as ah technical field.
Global Politics and Reconstruction Challenges
00:05:59
Speaker
From another angle, from a third angle, i think, the reconstruction of Gaza became actually or has become a matter of significant global political and geopolitical interest.
00:06:12
Speaker
As we see in the media, it is ah being used as a tool for political agendas or global political agendas that extend well beyond the humanitarian need to support the people and restore their destroyed cities.
00:06:27
Speaker
So reconstruction is being rudely and abduously weaponized now as a means for political control, making the process even more challenging.
00:06:38
Speaker
So in short, all of these things make the rebuilding of Gaza an immense challenge, a very great challenge, one that is far more beyond and complex than the typical post-war reconstruction in other cases.
00:06:52
Speaker
I would thank you for that. I think the the sort of the elephant in the room is, can reconstruction even happen under continued Israeli settler colonialism and blockade? Because we know that reconstruction from from even the the previous assault in 2014 was still underway prior to this this latest genocide.
00:07:12
Speaker
So is meaningful reconstruction even even possible under these conditions? Actually, the absolute answer for this question is no, actually. Although people in Gaza managed to do some sorts of reconstruction and rebuilding, but the real answer is no.
00:07:28
Speaker
I mean, and I think the current reality in Gaza is a proof that it's it's not possible. If the process was three from the control of Israeli occupation, or if borders with Egypt were open, the situation would be entirely different.
00:07:44
Speaker
The most critical factor about reconstruction is actually mobility. It is the ability to move funds, materials, experts, machines, and other essentials. Without these, reconstruction is impossible actually.
00:07:58
Speaker
Yes, people can adapt and make use of some spaces in a creative way to make spaces for living and survivability, but still large-scale rebuilding efforts like rebel clearance, restoring infrastructure, and constructing construction of houses.
00:08:15
Speaker
All these require heavy machines and significant resources. Even with a small scale and adaptations like people rehabilitating their homes, access to building materials, tools, and financial support is essential.
00:08:29
Speaker
Under siege and occupation, such processes actually cannot be happening. And especially that siege is also limiting the flow of money, the flow of material.
00:08:41
Speaker
ah So it's not only the flow of plans and strategies, but the the very essentials of life. and And let alone that siege now is even blocking food and medicine. People will be more busy finding their food and medicine before trying to rehabilitate their buildings.
00:09:00
Speaker
And of course, we also have to recognize that reconstruction is a big business, not just in Palestine, but also elsewhere. You know, reconstruction contracts are given to certain companies, certain materials are promoted over others.
00:09:15
Speaker
Can you speak to us about that? Yeah, of course, actually, this is a big issue of reconstruction. Actually, and general, post-war reconstruction is a big business because involves a massive financial investments, actually. It involves government contracts, international aid, and all of this will attract, of course, corporations, international corporations, private investors, and industries that will focus on rebuilding infrastructure, economies, institutions, and so on.
00:09:46
Speaker
So with the reconstruction, the activities will include large-scale infrastructure projects, for example, which in turn will require the involvement of various various stakeholders.
00:09:57
Speaker
And of course, this includes construction companies, engineering firms, suppliers of building materials, as well as academic academic institutions sometimes that may contribute through research and expertise.
00:10:10
Speaker
Additionally, the reconstruction phase will lead to a boom in real estate and sector, which is really important aspect here that affects locals and international at the same time. So it will focus on rebuilding homes and public spaces and other urban services.
00:10:28
Speaker
All this would require of course substantial financial resources to support the reconstruction. Additionally the reconstruction will not only focus on rebuilding homes and infrastructure but also includes economic recovery plans and These plans aim at generating new employment opportunities and fostering new businesses or resuming some businesses.
00:10:52
Speaker
And naturally, of course, all of this requires significant financial aid, actually. Of course, this will be measure a major avenue for both international and local businesses to benefit from these international funding and assistance.
00:11:07
Speaker
It is important also to mention here that the humanitarian aid in itself in this period evolves to be an industry by its own. So NGOs and humanitarian organizations receive substantial funds for post-war relief and recovery efforts that create what can be called the aid economy.
00:11:25
Speaker
And this economy or industry involves, of course, logistics and other services. all of which actually benefit businesses engaged in supplying goods and transportation, logistics and other essential services.
00:11:41
Speaker
We also cannot overlook and forget the issue of corruption here, because given the complexities of reconstruction efforts, there of course will be multiple procedures, policies and actions that take place.
00:11:56
Speaker
many of which contain gaps and loopholes that can be exploited for ah financial leakage and corruption. With large sums of money flowing in the area, many actors, both local and international actors, and sometimes reputed organizations, may try to take advantage of these opportunities for personal or political gains.
Diverse Plans for Gaza's Future
00:12:21
Speaker
So, Abed, as I mentioned, there have been reconstruction talks really since the the beginning of the genocide, because i I think people are always aware the level to which the Israeli regime will go in its a assault, even though this this particular time has been unprecedented in terms of the level of destruction. But it's always assumed that after any kind of Israeli assault, there will be a need for for reconstruction and with good reason.
00:12:47
Speaker
But what are the reconstruction plans that we know of that have come out so far? Let me say here that we can't talk solely about plans here.
00:12:58
Speaker
We have some plans that have been published or announced, but also we have ideas and initiatives that are happening around at the time. So among the former plans that have been announced or published are the and the most widely discussed and mentioned plan is the Arab or Egyptian plan.
00:13:17
Speaker
However, this is not the only plan, of course. And there is a very important plan which is as the Ghazza Phunik plan, which is introduced and published by Ghazza municipalities representing a strong framework for ah reconstruction.
00:13:33
Speaker
But of course it didn't receive the same level of attention or recognition as the Egyptian plan, mainly because it was published by the people of the land, but by the municipalities on the ground.
00:13:45
Speaker
Another plan is that what is called i Emerging Palestine Plan, which is a private sector initiative that outlines long-term vision for both Gaza and West Bank over the next 50 years, including Gaza's post-war reconstruction.
00:14:01
Speaker
And additionally, there is the Emirati plan by Habtour Group. I don't think it's an official Emirati plan. It is and produced and published by Habtour Group, which is an Emirati-based firm.
00:14:14
Speaker
They have proposed at a reconstruction plan for Haze. So it's ah they have a research center that they ah managed to make this plan and they published it. And of course, beyond these formal plans, Many other proposals and ideas exist, for example, the Trump plan that has been mentioned.
00:14:32
Speaker
So what is published or the published components appear to be more of a broad framework rather than a detailed reconstruction strategy, at least publicly.
00:14:43
Speaker
But it is one of these ideas that keep flying sometimes. Also, the Israelis have some plan like this, but these are not really plans. at least publicly, because we haven't seen plans. We saw some images and videos, and we cannot consider these plans, actually.
00:15:00
Speaker
But meanwhile, we also have independent initiatives, such as the Architects for Gaza, which involves groups of architects and planners developing building designs and special solutions for different spaces in Gaza to support municipalities and local organizations with um some plans.
00:15:19
Speaker
And they are working really rigorously and in very good terms. But it is also these activities, and they lack a comprehensive master plan. So they don't work within a comprehensive reconstruction plan.
00:15:33
Speaker
And also there is the a platform for Gaza reconstruction, which is a platform that is established by the Gaza municipalities. They also propose design proposals for many places in Gaza, and they made a competition for university students and architects where they propose some um redesign or design for some places.
00:15:55
Speaker
But as I mentioned, it is not part of a comprehensive plan. So in general, reconstruction efforts are being shaped by a mix of governmental plans, private sectors, and independent design proposals.
00:16:09
Speaker
All of these, in general, they reflect a diverse and complex landscape of strategies and ideas and even backgrounds. If you're enjoying this podcast, please visit our website, al-shabaka.org, where you will find more Palestinian policy analysis and where you can join our mailing list and donate to support our work.
00:16:33
Speaker
It's worth mentioning that the EU actually came out in support of the Arab-Egyptian plan. Can you tell us a bit more about the details of that plan and and what kind of Palestinian input there was?
00:16:46
Speaker
Actually, I think the EU stands, from my perspective, I think it's because the only other plan than Trump's plan, not because it's the most applicable plan. So if I want to talk about the Egyptian plan technically,
00:17:02
Speaker
The plan that is published, I mean, it consists of two sectors or two sections, if I can say. The first is more about political and administrative issues that actually I cannot really reflect on because this is more political and administrative.
00:17:17
Speaker
But the other section is the technical report. Tahrir al-Fanni, the technical report, which is about the reconstruction procedure itself. And here again, it is it consists of two sections.
00:17:29
Speaker
The first is about theoretical and guidelines and practical solutions. And sometimes it's more about theoretical aspects of the reconstruction and how they want to conduct the reconstruction. And it talks about Gaza, the statistics and the studies that have been done and so on, and some case studies.
00:17:48
Speaker
The other section is the plans, the master plans, the special master plans, and the special solutions, which also include typologies of buildings, typologies of spaces, typologies of camps that they want to create to host this place temporarily.
00:18:05
Speaker
All of these are technical. And from a technical view, I think the master plans, the drawings, the special solutions are firstly out of context. And secondly, out of scale.
00:18:18
Speaker
So they don't they cannot be applied at all, actually. Even those who put them, if they themselves go to the field, they cannot implement them on the ground.
00:18:29
Speaker
Plans are completely ignoring all the theoretical sections that the plan itself put. So there is a theoretical section that says, for example, to keep the property rights, to keep the people in their places.
00:18:43
Speaker
But the plan actually removes all property rights. It deals with Gaza as a taboo la raza. There is no cities there, and no no places there, no identity. And replaces it with a new identity that doesn't look alike anymore.
00:18:57
Speaker
any other Palestinian city, although they make some analysis of how Palestinian architecture ah look like, what is the identity of the Palestinian architecture. But it is not only about making some nice facades through AI-generated photos that you can convince that this is a national architectural identity of Gaza.
00:19:16
Speaker
So I think the plan in its theoretical and discursive part, it is good. It has many good aspects. And for my knowledge, the Palestinian authorities have contributed to this section.
00:19:31
Speaker
So the theoretical section and to the administrative and political section. But I don't think they contributed to the special or technical section that is more about the designs.
00:19:42
Speaker
But of course, let me make it clear. When I say the Palestinian authorities, this does not mean the municipalities in Gaza. So municipalities in Gaza has not been consulted about this at all. So they heard about it from media and they were not consulted at all about these things. so That's a really interesting point that the theoretical part of the plan feels completely disconnected from the the technical part of the plan.
00:20:11
Speaker
So how does this compare with the Palestinian-led plan, such as the Phoenix plan, and also the Palestinian Authority plan, which we we haven't mentioned yet? The Palestinian Authority plan is, we can say it's included in the Egyptian plan. It does not differ a lot, actually.
00:20:30
Speaker
And it does not cover many aspects that need to be covered, actually. But also the Palestinian Authority plan, I think it was produced in Ramallah. So it was not produced in Gaza.
00:20:42
Speaker
The only plan that was produced by Gaza people, not only by Gaza people, but where the Khadzim people, the municipalities and engineers on the ground were part of the developing of the plan is Phineek Azze.
00:20:55
Speaker
And this Azze Phineek is a 200 pages document that puts a framework for post-war reconstruction. It doesn't include any master plan or any special plan because it believes that this should be created once war stops.
00:21:11
Speaker
and by planners in Gaza and by municipalities in Gaza and based on the assessment at the time. But of course, having and the document without a special master plan makes it visually less appealing because um You know, people like to look at master plans and images, but anyway, it is ah document that puts framework where most aspects of reconstruction efforts can be included. For example, it is divided.
00:21:39
Speaker
The intervention is divided on three phases, emergency phase. Stabilization phase and reconstruction and development phase. So the emergency phase deals with essential needs during war and until six months after war stops.
00:21:55
Speaker
and The stabilization phase deals with essential needs and essential measures that municipalities should take once once the war stops until three years.
00:22:07
Speaker
And the construction and development phase starts from the time the ceasefire is approached and it lasts for 5 to 10 years depending on the the but financial support and the machineries and so on.
00:22:20
Speaker
Of course, in all these phases, we have also three sections in each phase, which is the criteria for interventions, which is a theoretical and principles guidelines that guide the interventions.
00:22:33
Speaker
And these, for example, include wartime resilience. This includes social cohesion. This includes the heritage preservation, the local identity. So all of these things that come to mind when someone wants to preserve the identity of the Palestinian existence in Gaza and the survivability and resilience capacity of Palestinian people in Gaza, these are all included in the criteria section. And then it includes the component section, which is every master plan or every policy plan should include this and this and this.
00:23:05
Speaker
And then we go to the sectors, the service sectors like housing, health and water and all of these. And based on the criteria, that is mentioned before.
00:23:16
Speaker
Each of these um sectors have different set of activities and actions and the plan even puts who are in charge of these actions, what are the needs for these actions and the breakdown of the actions.
00:23:32
Speaker
So it is actually also an action plan, at least in the emergency and stabilization phase. And all of these stages and breakdown of actions All of these were discussed and adjusted and adapted during war actually. So working on this plan started in December
Resilience and Historical Contexts
00:23:53
Speaker
2023.
00:23:53
Speaker
So it was only two or three months after was started. And they're the first document was published in January 2025. twenty twenty five So it took almost a year of discussion and adjustment based on the consequences and based on the emergent conditions on the ground.
00:24:09
Speaker
And I think based on and feedback from many experts but around the globe, from Europe, from Arab world, from people who were planners and architects and consultants in reconstruction plans in many parts of the world, they highlight that this is a very comprehensive and essential plan that is really competing all other plans.
00:24:30
Speaker
And it is actually, it is very well written. It's very well developed. And it has been published by the municipalities in a press conference. And the municipalities asked all agencies to deal with it.
00:24:41
Speaker
And I'm aware that many ah UN agencies are reading it and considering it in their measures. It's interesting that you mentioned because it doesn't have that master plan and it doesn't have the sort of appealing or what is generally considered as appealing sort of aesthetics. It's generally been overlooked.
00:25:02
Speaker
So I want to ask you in terms of sort of the next steps in this discussion around reconstruction, um do you think it's likely that the major powerful actors, namely the the US, will want to move forward with the Egyptian plan, because that's what sort of seems to be the most likely scenario. And if so, what are the consequences for Palestinians in Gaza?
00:25:28
Speaker
me just make things clearer actually. I think the reason why Ghazza-Finiq is not being considered is not because of the aesthetic and images. I think it's because it comes from Ghazza.
00:25:40
Speaker
So it comes from the municipalities and if everybody is avoiding even dealing with municipalities there and for political reasons only. Although they are the only agents working on the ground.
00:25:51
Speaker
In terms of isthetic the The document is very beautiful and it's really produced in a very appealing way. But when you put a kind of text to discuss an image, then it becomes a bit weak because the other plans have images of master plans. So this is... the um the comparison that I made because people don't like to read a lot.
00:26:13
Speaker
they They just look at images. In terms of firm what can happen next, actually, I think I can borrow from what the municipalities say, although maybe they are really and very passionate, but they say nothing can happen on the ground if we don't agree on it.
00:26:31
Speaker
Okay, people own the land. So it's not like many other places in the and the world where people own the apartment, for example, or they own the the building. But in Gaza, most of the buildings are built on private properties. So people own the land. So Abu Muhammad, Emma Muhammad, Abu...
00:26:50
Speaker
but they own the land that they have the the house on it. And there is no force that can force them to sell the land. So in in practice, any other plan that will be imposed on Gaza, it has to pass through stages like acquiring the land, if it fit needs acquiring the land.
00:27:07
Speaker
Also, there is drawing the shop drawings that will... be used for building, they have to be approved by municipalities, by local agencies, by local institutions there, the Engineers Association and the municipalities.
00:27:21
Speaker
So at the end, they believe that they are on the ground and they will guarantee that they will rebuild Gaza in the way they want to rebuild it. Of course, while having this very patriotic and them very bold stance, they know that this may delay the reconstruction and this may even halt the reconstruction at some point and this may make some problems.
00:27:45
Speaker
But everybody in Gaza is aware about the political ah reasoning for such plans that are imported from outside. And that's why the municipalities were really very passionate to work on the creation of FNIR-Ghazza.
00:27:58
Speaker
Because the absence of any local plan baves the way for external plans to come and enforce themselves. Of course, a good idea about the FNIR-Ghazza is it does not provide a plan to be implemented.
00:28:11
Speaker
It gives a framework. So even with the Egyptian plan, it can be adjusted according to the principles and guidelines in the Phineq, which means that architects and planners who will decide the regional plan for Gaza and the urban master plans for Gaza, they can be enlightened or acknowledged by the principles in the Phineq And then they can be producing some architectural interventions or infrastructural interventions that align with FNUq.
00:28:41
Speaker
So I think one of the good things about FNUq is that it involves a lot of things that allow for different plans to be adjusted and incorporated and even sometimes merged to produce a better urban and architectural landscape.
00:28:59
Speaker
And is that kind of scenario possible, Palestinian-led reconstruction plan or a reconstruction plan that incorporates Palestinian ideas? Is that possible in the current political context or climate?
00:29:14
Speaker
I think in the current political climate, it's not easy. and The municipalities need to fight to make the reconstruction align with the principles that they really want to follow.
00:29:26
Speaker
Like, for example, preserving the property rights, preserving the ah architectural identity of the city, preserving the social tissue and social structure of the city.
00:29:36
Speaker
All of these things are essential for the municipalities and for the people of Gaza. And the proposed master plans that I have seen in the Egyptians and in the Emiratis, they destroy all of these things completely.
00:29:47
Speaker
But of course, as I mentioned, they cannot be implemented because they are out of context and out of scale. So architecturally, they are not really possible to be implemented. But I may go back a bit.
00:29:58
Speaker
actually some years after the war in 2014. Also, reconstruction was really very heavily controlled by the Israelis, and it was not really as smooth as it was supposed to be. And tens of thousands of buildings were not really rebuilt since 2014, which means people stayed living in temporary phase until war this war came. And actually, I think if Palestinians want to be stubborn about um the reconstruction, this may also lead them to stay for longer time in tents and partially demolished buildings.
00:30:35
Speaker
But let me take you 100 years ago, actually, to the First World War. And this is exactly what happened with Gaza, particularly Gaza. So actually, and we, the Palestinians, we started this episode of confrontation with the settler colonial project, the Zionist settler colonial project, and the British imperial project in Palestine with the destruction of Gaza.
00:30:58
Speaker
So after the third battle of Gaza in Gaza, In 1917, the British could enter Palestine and occupy Palestine. And the city of Gaza was deemed uninhabitable by the High Commissioner Herbert Samuel at that time.
00:31:15
Speaker
And Arif Al-Arif mentioned that almost one-third of the houses were completely demolished and the rest of the homes were damaged or lacked their rooftops or windows or doors.
00:31:29
Speaker
And of course at that time, Ghazans were evacuated. So all of the Ghazans were evacuated from Gaza and they lived in Haifa, Yaffa and Jerusalem and even in Homs and Hama and in Damascus.
00:31:41
Speaker
And out of 28,000 Ghazans who lived in Gaza before the war, only 18,000 came back to Gaza when ceasefire was stabilized in 1918.
00:31:55
Speaker
And when they came back to their homes, there was no ah city and to survive, actually. And um unfortunately, they had no other support. Nobody supported them in rebuilding their homes.
00:32:08
Speaker
And even the British authorities ah started to enforce the property taxes, even against the properties that being that have been demolished.
00:32:19
Speaker
And also, people started to take ah stones and the parts of their buildings, demolished buildings, to rebuild them. And they were fined many cases about fining these people that are rebuilding their buildings. Why? Because they are using antiquities.
00:32:34
Speaker
But actually, most of these buildings were using recycled stones of antiquities. And I have read many cases, actually, even Shawwa's case, one of big merchants of Gaza, he had a very fantastic building. In his building, there were stones that are considered antiquity stones.
00:32:51
Speaker
But he just reused the stones that were in his house and he was fined for rebuilding because this is about using antiquity stones in construction. And of course, um maybe it's a bit surprising that when Herbert Samuel asked the British government to to help Ghazans in rebuilding their city in a method to take the hearts of the people, to make ah Britain look good for the Ghazans,
00:33:19
Speaker
after destroying their cities. ah first The first answer of the British government was, we lack funds for this, but they think that the Zionist movement can afford this.
00:33:29
Speaker
And they suggested that the Zionist movement can take part in reconstruction. And actually, the first attempt by the government to support people in Gaza to rebuild their homes was announced in 1925, so after the years after the construction, but also this one, this was method like there was um Muslim Christian and Christian Association in Palestine and their office in Gaza published an article saying this is a perfect plan to sell the Gaza
00:34:02
Speaker
land for the Jewish people, literally like this. So even these plans that were supposed to help the Ghazan people to rebuild their homes, they were actually to facilitate Jewish settlement, actually Zionist settlement in Gaza. So people rejected ah plant and the and people procreated their homes and they lived in partially damaged homes for 10 or 15 years actually. And even the Second World War came while many buildings are still in ruins in Gaza.
Conclusion and Resources
00:34:33
Speaker
Hamid, thank you for sharing that but really important historical context and yet again another example of Palestinian resilience and resistance in in Gaza amidst colonial and and settler colonial destruction.
00:34:49
Speaker
I think we'll leave it there for this episode, but thank you so much for joining me and we hope to have you on again soon. Thank you. It was really my pleasure to be with you.
00:35:01
Speaker
Rethinking Palestine is brought to you by Ashabaka, the Palestinian policy network. Ashabaka is the only global independent Palestinian think tank whose mission is to produce critical policy analysis and collectively imagine a new policymaking paradigm for Palestine and Palestinians worldwide.
00:35:18
Speaker
For more information or to donate to support our work, visit al-shabaka.org. And importantly, don't forget to subscribe to Rethinking Palestine wherever you listen to podcasts.