The Palestinian Authority wants to raise more than $700 million to fund development projects in Gaza. $620 million would go for a desalination plant, with $88 million earmarked for supplying natural gas to the Gaza power plant to increase electricity production and reduce its cost, and an unspecified amount to build 100 schools in a project provide 15,000 new jobs.
An emergency meeting of the coordination committee of the donor countries is scheduled for the European Union headquarters in Brussels in the next few days, at which time the PA intends to demand immediate assistance in light of the Hamas-run area's economic difficulties and the sharp decline in international aid, most notably from the United States.