Gaza government to build homes with clay and rubble, for lack of cement due to continuous Israeli siege

Clay homes to replace shelled homes in Gaza

Thursday April 30, 2009 12:34 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip announced that it aims at developing the idea of clay homes to fulfill the needs of the residents after Israeli terrorist forces demolished thousands of homes and is barring the entry of construction tools in the coastal region since more than 18 months.

Yousuf Al-Mansy, minister of Labor and Housing at the dissolved government, stated that the government formed a committee that would be in charge of conducting studies for creating paragons of structures, and to make use of the rubble of the shelled and demolished homes.

In the first step, the paragons include the construction of a mosque, school and a clinic.

“With our limited resources we can create constructions of simple structures” Al-Masry said, “the problem remains in the final work, such as doors, windows, electricity and toilets”.

He added that the Palestinians are a creative nation and will overcome the challenges with determination.

Al-Mansy- further said that the government will continue its talks with Arab and international governments and institutions to open the terminals so cement and construction are allowed through.

The origin of the new project started when resident Jihad Al-Sha’er had enough with waiting for construction materials to be allowed into Gaza, and started his own project of building his home out of clay.

Three months after the war, thousands of homes remain destroyed, and the residents are still awaiting the entry of construction tools.

But Al-Sha’er started the idea, and it started growing and spreading as clay is available but concrete and iron aren’t.

Several residents visited his clay home, and said that they will do the same to provide their families with shelter.

“We have no alternative, concrete is unavailable and our factions are not united”, Al-Sha’er stated, “people needs homes, need shelter, and others want to get married, I advice them not to wait”.

He seemed to be happy that he managed to build a home with a cost of 3000 US Dollars. “Well, this is a clay house, cool in summer and warm in winter”, he said.

In January, donor countries pledged four billion dollars to rebuild the Gaza Strip, but reconstruction cannot be carried out without opening the borders.

Meanwhile, resident Aisha Abed-Rabbo, 65, said that she lost 15 family members during the Israeli offensive.

“Nobody is helping is, not the Arabs, not the foreigners”, she said, “border terminals are closed, and we neither have concrete nor iron”.

In Rafah, resident Nidal Eid, started along with construction workers to build his clay home, and said that he managed to build two rooms, a toilet and a fireplace.

He added that when he finishes building is home, he will help other families who asked for his assistance in rebuilding their homes.

Lacking cement, Gaza government seeks to transform rubble into new buildings

Date: 30 / 04 / 2009 Time: 12:01
Gaza – Ma’an –

The de facto government in Gaza is investigating whether the rubble of bombed buildings can be ground up and re-constituted into a cement substitute that can be used in reconstruction.

Minister of Public Works and Housing Yousuf Al-Mansi said the Hamas-run government will build a mosque, a school and a clinic using this method as a trial run. Later, the ministry will expand its projects to include mud construction and other techniques.

“We are capable of constructing such simple structures adequately,” said Al-Mansi, pointing out that architects and engineers still need to work out the fine details of the buildings, including windows, doors, electricity and sanitation.

Reconstruction from Israel’s three-week assault on Gaza has been stalled due to what the UN reports is a blanket prohibition on imports of construction materials, including cement and steel.

Tired of waiting for the international community to break the blockade, Palestinians are turning to the means at hand to rebuild their houses. Clay bricks and other alternative materials are coming into use.

Over nearly two years of siege, Palestinians have survived in part on their own ingenuity. Lacking cooking gas, Gazans used the sand removed from the smuggling tunnels snaking beneath the Gaza-Egypt border to build clay ovens.

Al-Mansi said that Palestinians in Gaza are insistent on overcoming the current obstacles. He also said the de facto government is in contact with foreign governments, as well as international organizations, seeking to build pressure to end the Israeli-led blockade of Gaza.

Two Palestinians killed as tunnel collapses under Gaza-Egypt border

Date: 30 / 04 / 2009 Time: 09:48
Gaza – Ma’an –

Two Palestinians were killed when a tunnel collapsed under the Gaza-Egypt border near the city of Rafah early on Thursday morning.

The director of Abu Yousuf Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, Abdullah Shihadah, said that the two bodies were transferred to the hospital at 5am on Thursday. He refused giving their names.

An elaborate network of tunnels in Rafah is currently the only reliable means of moving goods into the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli-led land and sea blockade for nearly two years.

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.