Even with Gaza under siege, some envision reconstruction
One December morning in central London, more than two dozen people from influential institutions in the Middle East, Europe and the United States gathered in a conference room to pursue an aspiration that, at the time, bordered on 'absurdity. They were there to plan the reconstruction and long-term economic development of Gaza.Gaza has been relentlessly bombed by Israeli military forces in response to terrorist attacks launched by Hamas in October. Communities across the territory were being reduced to rubble and tens of thousands of people had been killed. Families were confronted with the immediacy of hunger, fear and pain.Yet at the meeting in London, members of the international establishment discussed how to transform Gaza from a place characterized by isolation and poverty int...