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Israel seeks to bolster Palestinian economy in West Bank

14 May 2013 04:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Amid a deep impasse in the peace process, Israel and the Palestinian Authority are maintaining a surprisingly close security and economic cooperation that fosters stability in the West Bank, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

A senior member of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a body that operates under the aegis of the Israeli Defense Ministry, lavishes praise on the PA's efforts to uphold law and order.

"They are doing an excellent job. Law and order bring about stability and security and also impact economic issues," Col. Grisha Yakubovich, head of COGAT's Civil Coordination Department, told reporters in Jerusalem on Monday." Israel seeks to improve the Palestinians' quality of life in the West Bank, their economic situation, infrastructure and freedom of movement."

The second Palestinian intifada that erupted in the year 2000 saw the cooperation gradually coming to a halt, until Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.

Yakubovich said that the Islamist group's rise to power in the coastal enclave, though violent, was critical to mending fences with the moderate Palestinian leadership in the West Bank.

It "created an opportunity for both sides to restore cooperation. The PA began rehabilitating its security forces and civil institutions. PA security forces fight crime in villages and security coordination with Israel is held daily, alongside coordination in civil matters," he said.

Israel regards the Palestinians' economic welfare a key factor in its efforts to maintain quiet in the volatile West Bank, where violent clashes involving Palestinians, Jewish settlers and Israeli security forces are common.

Bolstering the PA's developing economy is a daunting task. Eighteen percent of the 2.65 million Palestinians living in the West Bank are poor; unemployment rose to 19 percent in 2012; and economic growth is expected to decline from a projected 4.6 percent this year to 3 percent in 2016, according to figures provided by COGAT and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, 29 percent of Palestinians were employed in services, 19 percent in commerce and 17 percent in construction, followed by manufacturing (15 percent), agriculture (14 percent) and transportation (5 percent). The PA's GDP in 2012 was 10.25 billion U.S. dollars, according to official data.

While the Palestinians are seeking to establish a state of their own, they remain economically dependent on Israel, which employs about 14 percent of the Palestinian labor force in the West Bank and provides the PA with water, electricity, waste treatment and other vital services.

According to figures presented by Col. Yakubovich, about 44,850 Palestinians are employed in Israel and 22,800 are employed in settlements in the West Bank. The latter generate annual revenue of some NIS 1 billion (277.5 million dollars).

Though it is officially a military unit, COGAT is essentially the security establishment's liaison with the Palestinians' civil institutions. Under instructions from the Defense Ministry, it has launched several initiatives in recent years to aid the Palestinian economy, including in the areas of trade, agriculture and employment.

The number of permits to work in Israel has increased since 2010 via relaxed criteria, and professional workshops in agriculture have been launched, said Yakubovich.

As another trust-building measure, COGAT is seeking greater freedom of movement for the Palestinians in the West Bank, where military checkpoints are often a source of friction.

"In the past, travelling from Jenin to Ramallah could take 7-9 hours. Today it is an hour-and-a-half," he said.

Despite the good intentions, the PA's economic woes are a source of concern to Israel.