Gaza City: Mayor Dr. Yahya Al Sarraj has hailed the Phoenix Gaza initiative as an ambitious locally-oriented reconstruction framework, leveraging Palestinians' historical and cultural identity. Al Sarraj, also Head of Gaza Strip Municipalities Union, told Qatar News Agency (QNA) the plan prepared by many Palestinian experts in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and abroad combined urgent interventions during the aggression on the Strip, and strategic planning for the post-aggression period.
According to Qatar News Agency, he noted the framework is based on a local vision that shows the needs of the citizens of the Gaza Strip, and relies on the existing social, cultural and human capacities despite the extent of the destruction. The framework rejects to depict Gaza as an empty land but rather recognizes the value of the social and spatial assets that are still steadfast, despite the extermination campaigns, he said.
The first phase of the plan began during the Israeli occupation's aggression on the Gaza Strip, to enhance the steadfastness and survival of Palestinians. The second phase, an early recovery stage, extends from the cessation of aggression over a period of six to 12 months, and the third stage, which is the reconstruction stage, begins from the end of the aggression and runs through five to 10 years.