Egypt has offered to host an international conference in March for the reconstruction of Gaza Strip that was hit seriously in a recent 22-day Israeli military operation, Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Egypt will invite parties concerned to participate in the conference slated for March in Cairo, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a press release, without elaborating the exact date for the meeting.
A number of countries and international donor organizations will be invited to attend the conference to help rebuild Gaza, where some 1,400 Palestinians were killed and 5,500 others wounded in the Israeli attacks, said Zaki.
According to earlier reports, Egypt proposed to host an international conference gathering all donor countries on Feb. 28 for the rebuilding of Gaza.
Egypt has also proposed to start a "lasting" truce between Israel and Palestinian militant groups as of Feb. 5 and resume the inter-Palestinian national unity dialogue on Feb. 22.
Zaki said the Egyptian proposal to resume the inter-Palestinian dialogue will be discussed on Feb. 22 on key pending issues of the Palestinian cause.
The thorny issues to be tackled include the establishment of a Palestinian unity government, presidential elections, restructuring security bodies and activating the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman.
Egypt has been mediating for a durable ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian factions and inter-Palestinian reconciliation among rival Palestinian groups.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2009)