UNRWA gets under way with plan to rebuild Nahr al-Bared

[Phx_Dem]

BEIRUT: The authorities leading the rebuilding of the war-torn Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in North Lebanon launched the reconstruction's master plan on Tuesday, but they did not release the plan to the public and they have yet to gain full access to the area of the camp hit hardest by the conflict there in mid-2007.

Without a firm budget or timetable for the rebuilding, Tuesday's launch ceremony at the Grand Serail served largely to remind various groups - potential donors, displaced camp residents and Lebanese worried about the refugees' permanent resettlement - that the reconstruction of the battered camp is moving forward.

"The reason behind this press conference is to show a very strong message to the Palestinians, to the Lebanese and the whole world that the government of Lebanon has delivered on its promise to rebuild Nahr al-Bared," Ambassador Khalil Makkawi, head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee and one of those who spoke at Tuesday's event, told The Daily Star.

Since the three-month battle between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and Fatah al-Islam militants at the camp, many Palestinians have voiced fears that the camp would not be rebuilt, but on Tuesday Lebanese officials emphasized the inevitability of the reconstruction.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=88909

Has any org. been given access to the camp yet? I have not heard of any myself.