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"Living in a cage"

"International donors meeting in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, have promised $500m (£262m) in aid for the Palestinian territories.

UN aid chief Jan Egeland, who warned that lack of aid had made Gaza a "time bomb", welcomed the news but said a new peace process with Israel was vital.

"I hope that this conference here could represent some kind of a rock bottom for how deep we could sink in despair for the Palestinian territories and that we now move forward."
BBC News reports:

He had told those attending the meeting that 1.4 million Palestinians were "living in a cage" with border crossings closed and electricity and water shortages.

In the 25 years he had been visiting the Palestinian territories, he said he had "never seen so much hatred and bitterness" as during his last visit and he urged both Israel and Palestinian militants to cease hostilities.

"It's not only a question of more money... it's also a question of third parties going in and mediating a solution between the Palestinians and the Israelis," he said.

So reports BBC News. Egeland's words speak for themselves. Read the full piece here as also this article about Palestinian despair by Alan Johnston, of the BBC, reporting from the West Bank.

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