France is to reopen its cultural center in the Gaza Strip, which closed down 18 months ago over security concerns, the French foreign ministry says Wednesday.
“Activities will resume gradually,” ministry spokesman Romain Nadal says, noting that it was the only foreign cultural institution in Gaza.
The center, which is based in Gaza City, closed down following a fire and a bomb attack in late 2014.
In October of that year, a fire swept through its offices in what Palestinian police at the time suggested may have been a criminal act. Two months later, its southern wall was damaged by two blasts which were claimed by a small Salafist extremist group.
No-one was injured in either incident.
The French Cultural Center is the most visible foreign presence in the tiny Palestinian enclave, which is home to 1.8 million people.
Around 40 people with French or dual French-Palestinian nationality live in the Gaza Strip.
— AFP
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