Indian Muslim 'instant divorce' ban hailed but faces court challenge

Yahoo – AFP, Jalees ANDRABI, July 31, 2019

The banning of triple talaq, or 'instant divorce', led to celebrations across
India by some Muslim women's groups (AFP Photo/Sajjad HUSSAIN)

New Delhi (AFP) - The Indian government and women's groups hailed "historic" legislation Wednesday that criminalised "instant divorce" for Muslims, but an influential Islamic group said it would launch a legal challenge.

India's upper house passed a bill Tuesday banning the centuries-old practice that allowed men to separate from their wives by saying "talaq" -- or divorce -- three times.

Husbands who use it now can be jailed for up to three years or be fined.

Some Muslim women's groups celebrated at events across India, which has followed Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates in regulating "triple talaq".

Zakia Soman, a social activist who launched a campaign against the practice nearly a decade ago, said the legislation would serve as a deterrent against the unjust treatment of women, some of whom were divorced with a WhatsApp message or by phone.

"This law is the result of decades of injustice meted out to Muslim women and the unsympathetic attitude of the political class and clergy," Soman told AFP.

The government called the parliament vote "historic".

"An archaic and medieval practice has finally been confined to the dustbin of history," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter late Tuesday.

'Medieval' divorce banned

But other Muslim groups fought the law and even the opposition Congress Party was against it, accusing Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting one minority group.

Zafaryab Jilani of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board vowed Wednesday to challenge the new legislation in court.

He said the action was part of a wider campaign by Modi's Hindu nationalist party to undermine religious freedom.

"We are not surprised by the legislation as it is part of their larger agenda to change the country's constitution and snatch away the rights of minorities," Jilani, secretary of the Muslim group, told AFP.

Jilani said a petition against the law had nearly 50 million signatories across India.

Asaduddin Owaisi, a leading Muslim lawmaker, said the new legislation "should be seen only as one part of many attacks on Muslim identity and citizenship" since Modi came to power in 2014.

India's Supreme Court ruled triple talaq illegal in 2017, following a campaign by Muslim women whose marriages were ended by the practice. But the top court said the government had to pass legislation to ban it.

Law minister Ravi Shanker Prasad quoting media reports told parliament that around 350 cases had been reported since the Supreme Court ruling in 2017.

Israel says hosting Iraqi, Saudi journalists in first

France 24 – AFP, 21 July 2019

The journalists are set to visit Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and
holy sites in Jerusalem AFP

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's foreign ministry said Sunday the country will this week host six journalists from Arab countries including, for the first time, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The visit comes as Israel seeks to improve ties with Gulf Arab countries, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations.

Those states have resisted offering Israel formal recognition due to its continuing occupation of Palestinian territory, but their relations have warmed of late, largely due to common concerns over Iran.

The journalists will visit Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, parliament and holy sites, among others, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said it had "the aim of exposing the journalists ?- some of whom come from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel -? to Israeli positions on diplomatic and geopolitical issues".

Jordan is also participating, the ministry said.

Jordan is one of only two Arab countries, along with Egypt, that have diplomatic relations with Israel.

In another recent sign of a thaw, a group of Israeli journalists attended the US-led economic conference on Israeli-Palestinian peace in the Gulf state of Bahrain in late June.

The Palestinian leadership boycotted the conference, citing a series of moves against them by US President Donald Trump's administration.

On Thursday, Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said that he had met his Bahraini counterpart publicly for the first time during a visit to Washington last week.

Katz also recently visited Abu Dhabi for a UN climate conference, where he met United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and an unnamed "high ranking UAE official".

Football: Gulf crisis could hit Qatar 2022

Yahoo – AFP, David Harding, Jun 5, 2017

A picture taken on May 18, 2017, shows a general view of the Khalifa International
Stadium in Doha after it was refurbished ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World
Cup (AFP Photo/KARIM JAAFAR)

Doha (AFP) - The diplomatic crisis sweeping the Gulf could invigorate a campaign by critics of Qatar to strip Doha of the 2022 World Cup, experts said Monday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen were among those to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on the grounds that Doha supported extremist groups "that aim to destabilise the region".

One of the areas that could feel the impact is Qatar's hosting of the World Cup, football's biggest tournament, in five years' time.

"This is a massive escalation in pressure on Qatar," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a Gulf analyst with the Baker Institute at Rice University in Houston. "I think it will really have an impact if it lasts any time."

Since being controversially chosen by FIFA in 2010 as the host, Qatar has maintained that it is a politically secure nation despite its location in a volatile region.

Doha has also emphasised that the tournament serves the entire Gulf, and not just the tiny gas-rich emirate.

Nasser Al-Khater, a senior figure with Qatar's World Cup organising body, recently claimed that up to 1.3 million fans would visit Doha in 2022, the majority from the Gulf and "mainly from Saudi Arabia".

But current events may challenge those notions, Ulrichsen said.

"One of its pitches (to secure the World Cup) was that Qatar is one of the most stable countries in the Middle East," he told AFP.

'Looking over their shoulder'

With that potentially called into question -- and the fact that there are other countries which could host the event at little notice -- organisers may be getting anxious, Ulrichsen said.

"Qatar will know that there are alternatives, so they will be looking over their shoulder," he said.

Suggestions have been made previously that the United States, one of the countries that lost the race for the 2022 competition to Qatar, could take over hosting duties if necessary.

The crisis that erupted on Monday came only a few weeks after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia to cement ties with Riyadh and called for Muslim countries to unite against extremism.

In a brief statement sent to AFP, football's governing body FIFA said it was "in regular contact" with Qatar 2022 organisers and had "no further comments for the time being".

Simon Chadwick, professor of sports enterprise at Britain's Salford University, said the diplomatic crisis "raises an important issue of risk assessment and contingency planning" for the World Cup.

"The closer we get to 2022, the more Qatar becomes exposed. In terms of reputation and embarrassment, this is a big issue for Qatar," he said.

"As a country, Qatar likes to hedge, in regional terms it hedges and I think it's being forced by countries and organisations to stop that. I think there's an awful lot to be resolved in five years."

Sponsorship deal cancelled

Already the first sporting victim of the crisis has been claimed.

Saudi football club Al-Ahli said just hours after the cut in diplomatic ties that it would end its financial association with Qatar Airways, taking to Twitter to announce "the termination of the sponsorship contract between the club and Qatar Airways".

A three-year sponsorship deal, worth an estimated $16 million a season (14 million euros) with the Doha-based carrier was originally signed in October 2014 and renewed in May this year.

Another potential early victim could be this year's Gulf Cup of Nations, scheduled to take place in December in Doha.

Qatar had stepped in as host when Kuwait was stopped from hosting following its ban from FIFA.

Among the nations set to take part include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, who all cut diplomatic ties on Monday.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE also announced they were suspending flights to Qatar and banned their citizens from travelling to Doha.

Winning the right to host the 2022 World Cup was a major coup for Qatar, which has used its natural gas riches to promote its international profile. The country has said it is spending almost $500 million every week on major infrastructure projects related to the tournament.

Map of the Middle East showing countries which have severed diplomatic relations with Qatar pic.twitter.com/NVlrWuwqfJ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 5, 2017

KLM refuses seven passengers following Trump’s Muslim country ban

DutchNews, January 28, 2017

Dutch airline KLM has refused to fly at least seven passengers to the US after president Donald Trump closed the country’s borders to refugees and visa holders from a list of banned Muslim-majority countries. 

All the people who were refused permission to fly had a visa for the US, KLM told broadcaster NOS. Two had tickets to fly from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. The other five were flying from different destinations and had planned to change planes at Schiphol, NOS said. 

KLM said it had no alternative but to refuse to allow them to fly because they would not be allowed into the US. The airline said it and would pay for them to return to the starting point of their journey. 

Trump on Friday introduced an immediate entry ban for everyone from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen to last three months. The ban appears also to apply to people with a green card – a permanent residency permit. 

The KLM spokesman told website Nu.nl there would be more clarity about who could and could not fly in the coming days. 

More on the impact of the ban

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Anne Frank and her family were also denied entry as refugees to the U.S.

Portrait of Anne Frank at age 12, sitting at her desk at the Montessori school
in Amsterdam. (Courtesy Anne Frank House, Amsterdam)

"New Systems" - Feb 27, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"The New Human P1" - Sep 19-20, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)
"Return of the Masters" - Apr 11-12, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"Wild Cards" (3) - Nov 19 - 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)- (Text version)

".... The Wild Card of 2016

Remember: No emotion now. You have come from another planet and you’re looking at the end of 2016 – and there is the election. Understand without bias.

So for 2016, let’s do the numerology. You add the numbers and get nine. Nine is completion in simple numerology, and when you see a nine it often means the completion of something. Often it is of a time cycle, an energy or the completion of a paradigm. But it’s very strong.

The nines are stronger than many of the other numerological aspects and you feel them. The president-elect (at this writing) is a strong wild card. He is scheduled to become the 45th president. What a coincidence! Forty-five is a nine. A nine and a nine together are more than significant. They tell a story about what is happening. I will tell you something else. This story is not finished yet and there is more coming. You don’t know what you don’t know, so don’t make up your mind in advance about any outcomes. You’re from another planet, remember? There’s no emotion, no bias, no politics and nothing to judge. Look at it for what it is.

A big stick has just been inserted into what is normal and it’s going to be turned. As the big stick turns, other things will respond that never would have responded otherwise. I wish to tell you, dear one, old soul, relax with upcoming wild cards. They do what they do on purpose so that you will have a better civilization in the future. Sometimes they show you what won’t work, and sometimes they change paradigms that would have never changed otherwise. But what you have now is a profound wild card. That is the message.

It’s so common for you to respond certain ways when you are invested in the process. The knee-jerk reaction is expected or you wouldn’t be a Human. However, for this lesson, you’re from another planet and you’re looking down and you’re seeing it. Pretend.

Isn’t that interesting about a nine and a nine together? It means that truly the end of something is here. Perhaps it’s the end of the old way things were done? Perhaps it’s a shake-up of the system so it can correct itself? Don’t dare make up your mind where it’s going, because it’s not finished yet. However, wait a moment. Did you also realize that 2017 is a “one” year? Not only is the energy one of completion with a double nine, but it moves into “a new beginning” (the definition of a one in numerology).

I have more to tell you about numerology, and also something that will be clearer about this whole situation. I will give this to you in the next channelling.

Can you relax in the face of uncertainty when it’s your own country? Can you relax in the face of not knowing what’s next? When you’re so involved, can you disengage from either side of the fray? That is the test of a Lightworker.

There’s something else coming. Dear ones, this is beautiful. No matter what you think and no matter what your reaction is to this channelling, what is happening is correct for your time and needed for your immediate future. I will speak of this later. The beauty is when you step away and see how grand it is, that Spirit cares enough that it would allow a big stick to occur that would stir your complacency at this time. The real reason? The shift is here.

How do you feel? I want you to relax and smile at what the shift has brought you. For those of you who felt all the “shift talk” was nonsense, this may be your wake-up call. It’s real. Here it comes.

This is the message of the day. I am Kryon, in love with humanity, and for good reason.

And so it is.

KRYON

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Human Nature is Changing

There's a new concept afoot, a change in Human nature. We've spoken about this before. How many of you studied European history? And in school, did your mind fill up with all of the dates you had to memorize? Who conquered whom and when? Over and over and over, every single country had their turn conquering another country. Borders moved constantly. As far back as you want to go, that's what Humans did. They separated, gathered, and conquered. But as little as 50 years ago, it all stopped.

We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.

South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept. …”

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."

Arab leaders agree joint military force

Yahoo – AFP, Haitham El-Tabei, 29 March 2015

(Front from L-R) Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Kuwait Emir Sheikh 

Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Yemeni 

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Sudanese President Omar al Bashir 

(middle-C) (AFP Photo/Mohamed Samaaha)

Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) - Arab leaders agreed on Sunday to form a joint military force after a summit dominated by a Saudi-led offensive on Shiite rebels in Yemen and the threat from Islamist extremism.

Arab representatives will meet over the next month to study the creation of the force and present their findings to defence ministers within four months, according to the resolution adopted by the leaders.

"Assuming the great responsibility imposed by the great challenges facing our Arab nation and threatening its capabilities, the Arab leaders had decided to agree on the principle of a joint Arab military force," Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the summit in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The decision was mostly aimed at fighting jihadists who have overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria and secured a foothold in Libya, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said ahead of the summit.

On Sunday, Arabi told the meeting the region was threatened by a "destructive" force that threatened "ethnic and religious diversity", in an apparent reference to the Islamic State group.

"What is important is that today there is an important decision, in light of the tumult afflicting the Arab world," he said.

Egypt had pushed for the creation of the rapid response force to fight militants, and the matter gained urgency this week after Saudi Arabia and Arab allies launched air strikes on Huthi rebels in Yemen.

A handout picture made available by the Egyptian presidency shows Egyptian

 President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C) speaking during a closed session with Arab

 leaders during the Arab League summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm 

El-Sheikh on March 28, 2015 (AFP Photo)

Arabi, reading a statement at the conclusion of the summit, said on Sunday the offensive would continue until the Huthis withdraw from regions they have overrun and surrender their weapons.

Several Arab states including Egypt are taking part in the military campaign, which Saudi King Salman said on Saturday would continue until the Yemeni people "enjoy security".

'Months to create'

Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi at the start of the summit called for the offensive to end only when the Huthis "surrender", calling the rebel leader an Iranian "puppet".

However, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the leaders to find a peaceful resolution in Yemen.

"It is my fervent hope that at this Arab League summit, leaders will lay down clear guidelines to peacefully resolve the crisis in Yemen," he said.

James Dorsey, a Middle East analyst with the Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said that despite support for a joint-Arab force, "it would still take months to create and then operate on an ad-hoc basis.

"I don't think we will get an integrated command anytime soon, as no Arab leader would cede control of any part of their army anytime soon," he said.

"Today we will have a formal declaration that would be negotiated every time during action."

Sisi said in a recent interview that the proposal for a joint force was welcomed especially by Jordan, which might take part alongside Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri, spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition

 forces, speaks to the media next to a replica of a Tornado fighter jet (AFP

Photo/Fayez Nureldine)

Aaron Reese, deputy research director at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, said "each of these countries would bring a different capability.

"The Jordanians are well known for their special forces capability... the Egyptians of course have the most manpower and bases close to Libya."

Before Egyptian air strikes in February targeting the IS in Libya, the United Arab Emirates, which shares Cairo's antipathy towards Islamists, had reportedly used Egyptian bases to launch its own air strikes there.

Cairo had sought UN backing for intervention in Libya, dismissing attempted peace talks between the rival governments in its violence-plagued North African neighbour as ineffective.

Asean peacekeeping force (JG Graphics/Josep Tri Ronggo)

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Egypt releases Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste

Australian journalist Peter Greste has been freed after spending more than a year in an Egyptian prison. The decision to release him was reportedly made by the country's president.

Deutsche Welle, 1 Feb 2015

Egyptian officials said on Sunday that President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi had used a provision contained in a law passed back in November that allows for the deportation of foreign suspects and criminals.

"There is a presidential decision to deport Peter Greste to Australia," the AFP news agency cited an unnamed Egyptian official as saying.

Greste was put on a plane to Cyprus shortly after his release.

There was no word on the fates of Al Jazeera reporters also imprisoned by the Egyptian state - Mohamed Fahmy, a dual Canadian-Egyptian citizen, or Egyptian national Baher Mohammed. The three reporters were arrested in December 2013 and convicted by a Cairo court last year of aiding the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization. Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in jail, while Mohammed was given 10 years.

Specifically, they were convicted of providing a platform for the Brotherhood, which was banned as a terrorist group in December. All three denied the charges, arguing that they had simply been doing their jobs as journalists when they reported on the July 2013 toppling of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi by el-Sissi, who was head of the army at the time.

Public campaign for journalists' release

Human rights groups have described their arrests and subsequent convictions as a sham. The arrests sparked an international outcry and Al Jazeera launched a public campaign to get its reporters released.

Greste's release comes almost a month after his lawyer made a formal application for him to be deported to Australia under the new law. The application was made a day after a Cairo court granted an appeal launched by the journalists' defense team and ordered a retrial of all three men. However, they were not granted bail.

Greste had spent a total of 400 days behind bars by the time he was released on Sunday.

pfd/bk (AFP, Reuters, AP, dpa)

Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed have been jailed
for endangering Egypt's national security. Photograph: Mohammed Bendari/Rex

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Reconstruction funds pledged for Gaza

Pledges for the reconstruction of Gaza have been made at an international meeting in Cairo. There were also renewed calls for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Deutsche Welle, 12 Oct 2014

Thirty international envoys gathered in Cairo on Sunday to discuss reconstruction of the Gaza strip. Some 18,000 homes in Gaza together with major parts of the territory's infrastructure were destroyed in the seven-week conflict with Israel this summer. The Palestinians have put the full cost of reconstruction at about $4 billion (3.16 billion euros) over three years.

"The state of Qatar announces its participation with an amount of $1 billion for the reconstruction of Gaza," Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiya said at the meeting.

US Secretary of State John Kerry announced $212 million in US aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. "The people of Gaza do need our help, desperately, not tomorrow, not next week, they need it now," Kerry told the meeting.

European Union member states will contribute a total of 450 million euros ($568 million) to Gaza, the bloc's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced Germany is to contribute 50 million euros to reconstruction efforts in Gaza: "We can't allow the people in Gaza to sink into despair," he said in a statement.

Britain is to provide $32 million for reconstruction according to the country's ambassador in Cairo.

Palestinians put the cost of reconstruction
at about $4 billion

Israel was not invited to the conference but Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said any effort would need his government's consent: "Gaza cannot be rebuilt without the cooperation and participation of Israel," Lieberman told the Ynet news service. He added that Israel would be "receptive" to plans for "the reconstruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza."

Renewed peace calls

At the conference on Sunday there were also renewed calls for a peace process between the Palestinians and Israel.

"Out of this conference must come not just money but a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace that meets the aspirations of all, for Israelis, for Palestinians for all people of this region," Kerry said. "And I promise you the full commitment of president Obama, myself and the United States to try to do that."

Egypt renewed its call for a wider Middle East peace deal based on a 2002 initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia, offering full recognition of the Jewish state, if it gave up all land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and agreed to a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas also said the 2002 Arab plan could be the framework for a new comprehensive approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Israel has previously rejected this initiative.

jm/rc (Reuters, AFP)

US Secretary of State John Kerry (L) greets Palestinian Authority President

 Mahmud Abbas (C) at Andalus Villa in Cairo on October 12, 2014, on the

sidelines of the Gaza Donor Conference (AFP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Kerry to join Cairo talks on rebuilding Gaza

Yahoo – AFP, 6 Oct 2014

US Secretary of State John Kerry gestures upon his arrival for a meeting with

 Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah on July 23, 

2014 (AFP Photo/Abbas Momani)

Washington (AFP) - Secretary of State John Kerry will take part in a conference on rebuilding Gaza, devastated by a 50-day war with Israel earlier this year, a US official said Monday.

Kerry "will be attending the conference" to be held in Cairo on October 12, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

The Palestinian government on Thursday unveiled a 76-page reconstruction plan for Gaza, calling for $4 billion to rebuild the war-battered territory, with the largest amount going to build housing for some 100,000 left homeless.

The Israeli military operation in the impoverished Gaza Strip killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, while attacks by Gaza militants killed 73 on the Israeli side.

The report said $4 billion (3.2 billion euros) would be needed for the "direct costs" of rebuilding the besieged coastal territory. It would include $1.9 billion for public and private infrastructure repairs, and $1.2 billion for "reactivating economic productivity."

The priority will be to remove rubble and unexploded shells, while also repairing Gaza's power station and improving access to water, health care and education.

Last month, the US unveiled an additional $71 million in emergency aid to Gaza, highlighting that "more than 580,000 people are still sheltering in United Nations facilities."

It brought the US total funding since the start of the war to more than $118 million.

"Basic necessities like food, clean water, and fuel remain in short supply throughout the territory," the State Department warned in a September statement.

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Hamas, Fatah agree on return of unity government in Gaza

Yahoo – AFP, Nasser Abu Bakr

Chief Palestinian negotiator Azzam al-Ahmad (centre left) of the mainstream Fatah

 movement shakes hands with Hamas deputy leader Musa Abu Marzouk (centre right)

 at a hotel in Cairo following reconciliation talks on September 24, 2014 (AFP Photo/

Khaled Desouki)

Cairo (AFP) - Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah said they reached an agreement on Thursday for the return of their unity government in Gaza ahead of crucial negotiations with Israel next month.

The Palestinian rivals had set up a unity government of independents in June but it never took hold, with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accusing Hamas of running a "parallel" administration as de facto ruler in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas in turn accused Abbas's Palestinian Authority, headquartered in Ramallah, of not paying its 45,000 employees in Gaza.

"Fatah and Hamas have reached a comprehensive agreement for the unity government to return to the Gaza Strip," Jibril Rajoub of Fatah told AFP.

Senior Hamas official Mussa Abu Marzuk and Fatah's head of delegation, Azzam al-Ahmad, confirmed that an agreement had been reached after two days of talks in Cairo.

The talks were crucial for internal Palestinian divisions to be set aside and to agree on a unified strategy during talks with Israeli negotiators in October.

The October talks, under Egyptian mediation, are aimed at reaching a durable ceasefire after the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas.

The war killed more than 2,140 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 73 on the Israeli side.

It ended on August 26 when the two sides agreed in Cairo on a ceasefire and to hold future talks on Palestinian demands to end an eight-year blockade of Gaza and exchange prisoners in Israeli jails for the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza.

'All issues tackled'

Hamas and Fatah talks were also crucial ahead of an international donor conference on October 12, to be hosted by Cairo, on the reconstruction of Gaza.

The July-August war caused a vast amount of destruction to homes and infrastructure in densely populated Gaza, leaving more than 100,000 Palestinians homeless, according to the United Nations.

"The unity government will supervise the crossings (into Gaza)... to facilitate the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip," Abu Marzuk said.

He said the two factions agreed to creating a mechanism for construction material to pass in to Gaza.

The two movements have also found a "solution .. to the problem of employees," Abu Marzuk said, referring to the Hamas accusations that the Palestinian Authority had not paid Gaza government employees.

"This meeting was essential because it tackled all the issues and hindrances that obstructed reaching an agreement," he said, referring to a reconciliation deal inked in April.

The April deal was inked to end years of bitter rivalry between the Fatah faction of Abbas, which dominates the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, and the Islamist movement Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for the past seven years.

Following the deal, the rivals set up a government of independents, the first united administration in seven years, which took office in early June.

But sharp divisions quickly emerged over the control of Gaza, where the Hamas government formally stepped down on June 2 but remained the de facto power.

Abbas accused Hamas of operating a "shadow government" and threatened to end the unity deal unless the Islamists allowed the new government to function properly.

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