Systemic underinvestment in Gaza's infrastructure reveals long-standing colonial neglect and occupation costs
Original framing: “Report finds Gaza needs more than $71bn in next decade for recovery” — Al Jazeera
The destruction of Gaza's infrastructure is part of a historical pattern of colonial land use and resource control. Similar to the British Mandate era and the Nakba, the current situation reflects a deliberate strategy of depopulation and economic strangulation to weaken resistance and control territory.
The $71 billion reconstruction demand for Gaza is not a standalone figure but a symptom of a deeper, systemic crisis rooted in occupation, colonialism, and the denial of Palestinian sovereignty.
This crisis is mirrored in other occupied and colonized regions, where infrastructure destruction is used as a tool of control. The report's omission of historical accountability, Indigenous knowledge, and marginalized voices reflects a broader pattern of donor dependency and geopolitical complicity. To move forward, recovery must be redefined as a process of decolonization, justice, and self-determination, with Palestinian communities at the center. This requires not only financial investment but also legal, political, and cultural transformation.