“The conference … was held under Egyptian auspices with the participation of 75 delegations and some of the world’s most prominent leaders. … Palestinian Authority [PA] representatives from Ramallah presented a plan for the reconstruction of Gaza and asked donor countries for $2.7 billion. In East Jerusalem, people said this week: ‘These Americans gave Israel weapons and vast sums of money, which it used to destroy Gaza, now they are giving a fortune to rebuild what was destroyed. Is it any wonder they’re experiencing an economic crisis? … Two important delegations were conspicuously absent there, or, as described by al-Quds al-Arabi: ‘There were no representatives from Israel, which destroyed Gaza, and there were no representatives from Gaza, which was destroyed.’ … Against this backdrop one can state that there’s no point in talking about rehabilitating Gaza unless there’s a political solution for the Strip.”

The above is not a report about the donor conference held in Cairo Oct. 12 to discuss repairing the damage Israel inflicted on Gaza in Operation Protective Edge this summer. Rather, the quotation is from a report in the Israeli daily Calcalist about the March 2009 donor conference following Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, in December 2008. The same sort of exercise could be done using a news report from the World Tribune about the rehabilitation of Gaza after Operation Pillar of Defense at the end of 2012. Then, too, the Arab and international communities funded the rebuilding of residential neighborhoods, public buildings and infrastructure that collapsed under the tonnage of Israeli air force bombings. Then, as well, pundits said that true rehabilitation would only be possible within the framework of a diplomatic arrangement resulting in a lifting of the blockade on Gaza and an end to the Israeli occupation.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who brought a check for $212 million to the Cairo event, explained that “out of this conference must come not just money but a renewed commitment from everybody to work for peace.” He expressed certainty that none of the guests was keen on meeting again in two years for a fourth conference on the reconstruction of Gaza and pleaded with Israel and the PA to renew peace negotiations. He noted that the gap between the sides had been narrowed significantly during the contacts that he had orchestrated until the talks broke down last spring. The fighting in Gaza, the secretary added, had emphasized the need for a two-state solution.

Barely two days later, the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the most loyal US ally in Europe, voted by a sweeping majority to recognize the state of Palestine. By so doing, it joined Sweden, the first member of the European Union to express a symbolic no-confidence motion against the US model for resolution of the oldest conflict in the modern Middle East by announcing its intention to recognize Palestine. The senior politicians in both these European states reflect the prevailing view across the continent, but not only there.