BICOM

This morning’s Maariv suggests that Israel is planning to allocate a large tract of West Bank land under its control for Palestinian economic development.

The report says the 20,000-dunam (20 square kilometres) area is larger than the size of the Israeli city of Kfar Saba. The land has been under full Israeli control since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s and is not adjacent to the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements or locations considered strategically vital. A government source is quoted saying “this is an area that will be included in the Palestinian state in any future arrangement.”

Apparently, the land will be used for the development of agricultural and commercial projects, which will be overseen by the Palestinian Authority (PA) but funded mainly by the United States’ development agency USAID. The area in question is under Israeli civilian and military control, but a high-ranking Israeli security official is quoted saying that the land would not be transferred to the PA and will remain under Israeli sovereignty for now. Instead, “At issue are private Palestinian lands and American projects to help the land owners in agriculture and in other spheres and Israel has no problem with this help.” Maariv says that approval for projects on this land should take no longer than 90 days.

Although peace talks between Israel and the PA which resumed in July have yet to achieve a breakthrough, the Israeli government has recently taken a variety of measures to boost the Palestinian economy. In September, Israel increased the number of work permits granted to West Bank Palestinians to its highest level since 2000 and pledged to improve the water supply to Palestinians, install a new fuel pipeline to the West Bank and undertake greater cooperation on tax matters. The following month, Israel’s cabinet approved an upgrade to facilities at the Allenby Bridge border crossing with Jordan, a major terminal for Palestinian civilians and goods.