UAE finances $ 50-million housing compound in Gaza

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will finance a $ 50-million worth housing compound in Gaza, the UAE news agency WAM reports.

The "Sheikh Zayed city of families of martyrs," named after the UAE head of state, will comprise 3,574 flats, two mosques, health centers, cultural centers, schools, a market, a sports complex and two gardens.

The funding agreement was signed by Palestinian Housing Minister Abdelrahmane Hamad, who is on a visit in the gulf state, and manager of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Said Khalfan Al-Roumeithi.

After he thanked the UAE head of state for the initiative, the Palestinian official hoped that construction works will start soon in order to alleviate the unemployment and housing hardships facing Palestinians in the autonomous territories.

Some 70,000 Palestinians are living in the United Arab Emirates, which has close relationships with the Palestinian Authority.