Opening a conference in Cairo on rebuilding Gaza after a 50-day Israeli aggression against Gaza, Sisi said;
"We should turn this moment into a real starting point to achieve a peace that secures stability and flourishing and renders the dream of coexistence a reality, and this is the vision of the Arab peace initiative,"
"I call on the Israeli people and the government: now is the time to end the conflict... so that prosperity prevails, so that we all can have peace and security"
Mahmoud Abbas told the global envoys in attendance that the "latest conflict" had destroyed government institutions in Gaza. In other words: The Palestinian resistance and "Israel" are responsible for for the destruction of Gaza.
"happy" Kerry announced an additional and immediate $212 million.... to relief and budget support for the PA.
He warned that the Hamas resistance movement in Gaza which fought the conflict with Israel continued to pose "a threat."
"As long as there is a possibility that Hamas can fire rockets on Israeli civilians at any time, the people of Gaza will remain at risk of future conflict,"
Israel was not invited to the conference but Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Ynet, Israel would be "receptive" to plans for "the reconstruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza".
"Gaza cannot be rebuilt without the cooperation and participation of Israel,"
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Updated at 2:40 pm (GMT +3): Global donors pledged hundreds of millions in aid to the devastated Gaza Strip on Sunday despite warnings the battered Palestinian enclave remained a "tinderbox" after the latest Israeli assault.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and 30 of his counterparts join UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is seeking a record $1.6 billion (1.3 billion euros) in aid to rebuild Gaza.
Kerry announced an additional $212 million in aid to the Palestinian people at the conference.
"Today I'm happy to announce an additional and immediate $212 million to the Palestinian people," he said, adding that the funds would go to relief and budget support for the PA.
"Taken together the US has provided more than $400 million to Palestinians over the last year, $330 million just since this summer's conflict began."
He warned that the Hamas resistance movement in Gaza which fought the conflict with Israel continued to pose "a threat."
"As long as there is a possibility that Hamas can fire rockets on Israeli civilians at any time, the people of Gaza will remain at risk of future conflict," Kerry said.
The latest Israeli aggression on Gaza killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, more than 70% civilians, while rockets by Hamas resistance group killed 73 on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers.
It also left the densely populated enclave in ruins, displacing more than a quarter of Gaza's population of 1.7 million and leaving 100,000 people homeless.
The Palestinian government has unveiled a 76-page reconstruction plan, calling for $4 billion in funds, with the lion's share going to build housing for some 100,000 people left homeless by the Israeli assault in July and August.
There is widespread concern that -- after three destructive conflicts in the past six years -- any help to Gaza will eventually be lost in the enclave's cycle of violence.
Ban expressed the fears of many when he told the conference the situation in Gaza remained potentially explosive.
"Gaza remains a tinderbox, the people desperately need to see results in their daily lives," Ban said.
PA president Mahmoud Abbas repeated his calls for an internationally set time frame for establishing a Palestinian state, telling the global envoys in attendance that the latest conflict had destroyed government institutions in Gaza.
Neighborhoods destroyed
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told the conference the enclave's need was desperate.
"Gaza has suffered three wars in six years. Entire neighborhoods have been destroyed," Abbas said.
Kerry said the new aid brought Washington's contribution to helping Gaza to more than $400 million over the last year alone.
Other nations joined the effort, with Germany pledging $63 million and Norway about $13 million.
But there were repeated concerns about donor funds going to waste without new efforts at a long-term solution.
"Letting Gaza fester while leaving the parties to their own devices is the surest way for setting ourselves up for another round of war another year or two down the road," Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende told the conference.
"The missing political framework is urgently needed, and our message to donors is clear: 'There is no more time to lose'."
Kerry was due later to meet Abbas to press for further peace efforts.
Kerry's dogged pursuit of a long-elusive peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed in acrimony in April after a difficult nine-month process, and there is little prospect of fresh talks any time soon.
Israel and the Hamas resistance group have yet to even translate their temporary August truce into a long-term ceasefire.
In his meeting with Abbas, Kerry is expected to try to dissuade him from seeking further recognition of the Palestinians at the United Nations, including joining the International Criminal Court.
Israel consent needed
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA has described Gaza's financial needs as "unprecedented".
The United Nations already has plans for $2.1 billion of the funds, with $1.6 billion going to UNRWA and the rest to other agencies including children's agency UNICEF and development arm UNDP.
One crucial question will be how the aid is delivered, especially given Israel's strict blockade of the territory since 2006.
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 said in an interview with news website Ynet, though he added that Israel would be "receptive" to plans for "the reconstruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza".
Internal divisions among the Palestinians are also a matter of widespread concern and they strive to present a united front in advance of the conference.
On Thursday, a new unity government held its first cabinet meeting in Gaza, months after a reconciliation deal between rivals Fatah, which dominates the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, and Hamas, which is in de facto control of Gaza.
(AFP, Al-Akhbar)
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