On Monday, De Croo visited the Firas market in central Gaza City, where around 370,000 tonnes of waste had accumulated during the two years of war when the garbage collection and sewage systems collapsed, turning it into a huge smelly landfill.
‘It will take us seven years to remove all the rubble’
UNDP bulldozers began removing waste a week ago, creating a ray of hope for Palestinians, with the aim of reopening the market as an economic hub. The UN entity is also involved in ensuring that housing, basic services, and education and health needs are met.
Speaking to the media from Jerusalem after his three-day trip to Gaza and the West Bank, Mr. De Croo, former Minister of Development in the Belgian government, said that living conditions were the worst he had ever seen and that only 0.5 percent of the rubble in Gaza had been removed so far.
“At the current rate, it will take us seven years to remove all the debris,” he said. “We need to have more capacity to remove and recycle rubble. 90 percent of the population of Gaza today lives in the midst of that rubble, which is extremely dangerous.”
The vast majority of Gazans still live in rudimentary tents, which UNDP is beginning to replace with recovery housing units. 4,000 of them are ready, but up to 300,000 are needed for the population.
“We understand the security concerns of the Israeli authorities,” De Croo explained, “but that should not be a reason to deny access to organizations such as the UNDP, other UN organizations and international NGOs.”