The international conference for discussing the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip that Norway has supported will be held in Cairo on October 12, RIA Novosti quoted Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende as saying.
Brende toured Gaza after his arrival through Israel into the enclave, where he described the destruction of houses and infrastructure he saw "as huge and unacceptable."
International parties should aid Gazans and reconstruct the Gaza Strip to help return the region to normality, Brende said at a joint news conference held in the enclave with Mofeed Hasayna, the minister of public work and housing in the Palestinian unity government.
"The blockade has to be lifted and allow all what Gaza needs," Brende said.
Brende asserted that the enclave should be economically developed, adding "there are so many jobs needed because 70 percent of the young people are unemployed. This is not acceptable."
Meanwhile, Hasayna told reporters that despite the recent conflict hopes remain for the resumption of the peace talks on the two-state solution "because it is the most logical solution and the best for both Israel and the Palestinians."
He called on European, Arab and Islamic countries and states to join the conference and donate as much as they can to help end the humanitarian crisis that befell the Gaza Strip's population following Israel's 50-day military offensive that left over 2,000 of Palestinian dead and thousands more wounded.