The United Arab Emirates announced it will rebuild 800 houses in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank destroyed in a military offensive by Israeli forces, the official Wam news agency reported. Emirati president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan ordered the reconstruction of 800 houses in Jenin camp equipped with every facility to ease the suffering of the inhabitants, Wam said.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan, minister of state for foreign affairs and chairman of the Emirati red crescent society, informed Peter Hansen, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), of the commitment, the agency added.

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The rebuilding project will be undertaken in coordination with UNRWA and the Palestinian ministry of works.

Wam quoted Hansen as telling a press conference in Abu Dhabi that Israeli forces could launch a military offensive in the Gaza Strip at any time. UNRWA had drawn up an emergency plan for any such eventuality, Hansen said, describing working conditions in Gaza as extremely difficult because the organisation was not able to operate in complete freedom.

Unrwa will cooperate fully with the UN fact-finding mission to the jenin refugee camp, providing information on deaths, missing, injuries and the level of destruction, Hansen said.

It would also ask Israel to pay compensation for damages to buildings and equipment belonging to UNRWA, he added.
Bureau Report