Policy papers and recommendations
/ Gaza
The reconstruction of Gaza is an extremely complex task. The extensive and profound destruction requires a comprehensive, long-term reconstruction effort that demands significant resources and partnership among the local community, Israel, regional states, and the international community.
Bold policy decisions are required to link the reconstruction process with an Israeli–Palestinian and regional peace process, thereby providing a sustainable framework for reconstruction. Cooperation between political leadership and the business sector is necessary to restore economic life in Gaza and the surrounding region. Significant involvement of Israeli, Palestinian, and global civil society is also essential.
Civil society is a critical component for the success—and under current conditions, even the initiation—of a sustainable reconstruction effort. It fills gaps left by political processes when political considerations lead to suboptimal decisions. It also compensates for limitations in the business sector when profit motives prevent necessary investments or divert resources inefficiently. Civil society fills a moral gap as well, and possesses substantial resources and assets to do so.
This document focuses on the roles of Israeli and Palestinian civil society (in Gaza and the West Bank) at the present moment, in promoting the necessary transition from war to reconstruction within the framework of an Israeli–Palestinian–regional peace process. It outlines the characteristics of the civil society arena, guiding principles for action in the immediate and medium term, and proposes several concrete steps forward.
