U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend an international donors' conference next month in Cairo aimed at raising money to rebuild Gaza after Israel's recent military operations there, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Thursday. After meeting with Clinton at the State Department, Abul Gheit told reporters he had invited her to the March 2 meeting and that she had accepted. The department has not yet announced Clinton's trip but has said the United States would be represented at a high level. “Yes, the secretary will be coming to Cairo on the second of March,” Abul Gheit said. “We expect lots of commitments from everybody, lots of commitments for the reconstruction” of Gaza during the conference.” The United States has not indicated how much it might pledge at the conference, but since Israel's 22-day bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip began in late December, Washington has contributed almost $60 million in emergency assistance for Palestinians in Gaza, including $55 million to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross for work they do in Gaza. “The needs of Gaza's Palestinians remain acute,” the State Department said in a statement Thursday. “The U.S. government will continue to monitor the situation to judge what additional contributions would be the most helpful.” --More
