Palestinian Foreign Minister Naser Kidwa called Saturday for convening an international conference to help rebuild the Palestinian territories, which suffered large scale destruction during the past four years.
The minister call came in a statement to the press issued by the foreign ministry.
Kidwa proposed for the conference to convene within the framework of the Middle East peace conference called by the European Union and expected to take place in the second half of 2005.
‘We agree to hold the peace conference, called for by the EU, but demand for a special session on rebuilding the Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip’ the statement said.ÂÂ
The Palestinian foreign minister affirmed that rebuilding areas, which Israel intends to evacuate during the summer, should be based on priorities prepared by the Palestinian Authority.
‘The rebuilding and internationally allocated resources should go in parallel to our vision and priorities’ the statement said.
Kidaw vehemently rejected providing Israel with any rule in rebuilding the Gaza Strip after the pullout, saying that commerce, development and strategic projects should be left to Palestinians.
Kidwa expressed willingness to coordinate with Israel on issues of common interests, such as the issue of Palestinian workers inside Israel.
The minister reiterated the Palestinian stand that the pullout from the Gaza strip would not change the legal status of the Palestinian strip, rejecting calls for establishing a ‘provisional Palestinian state’ in the evacuated Palestinian territories.
‘A provisional state is not acceptable. This proposal is totally dismissed by Palestinians and all Arab states. We will not accept less than a full withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders’ Kidwa said.ÂÂ
   ÂÂ
