AMMAN, Jordan: A UN agency aiding Palestinian refugees said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia is contributing $70 million for new housing units in the Gaza Strip. Israel has authorized construction of the 1,200 new homes and 18 badly needed schools in Gaza, in what would be one of the largest housing projects in the seaside territory in years. Israel, which controls the cargo crossings into Gaza, has largely banned the entry of construction materials into the coastal strip since Hamas seized control in 2007. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said Wednesday that the test of Israel's decision would be whether it allows thousands of trucks to ferry building material into Gaza's border town of Rafah, where the houses are to be built. The Israeli military said it had no objections to Saudi Arabia's funding for the project, as long as international groups were overseeing the construction. Japan is also funding the project. Sharp rise in West Bank demolitions: Rights group In Occupied Jerusalem, there has been a sharp rise in the number of Palestinian structures razed by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank this year, with over 700 people left homeless, Israeli human rights group said Wednesday. So far, Israeli forces have demolished “103 residential structures ... most of them tents, huts, and tin shacks, in which 706 persons lived,” B'Tselem said in a statement. This was up from 86 structures in 2010 and 28 in 2009, B'Tselem said. The Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank could not immediately be reached. B'Tselem said the Palestinians had no choice but to build illegally because Israel, which controls the occupied West Bank, rarely gives Palestinians permits to build. “Few Civil Administration outline plans have been made for Palestinian communities, and they do not enable any construction or development beyond what already exists, making it impossible for Palestinians to build legally in these areas,” B'Tselem said. Human Rights Watch (HRW) also called on Israel to cease the demolitions.
