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Israel, PA finance ministers intensifying cooperation to boost Palestinian economy
According to a Channel Ten report, Israel’s Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and his Palestinian Authority (PA) counterpart Shukri Bashara have stepped up talks to agree joint measures which would aid the Palestinian economy.
Relations between Israel and the PA have been especially fraught over the last several months, with Israeli leaders having accused PA President Mahmoud Abbas of stoking the current violence with incendiary rhetoric. At least 31 Israelis have been killed in near-daily attacks by Palestinians since the start of October.
However, reports emerged in January that Kahlon and Bashara had met on more than one occasion in order to discuss the potential to relieve Palestinian youth unemployment and also plans to boost Palestinian infrastructure, including additional permits for tens of thousands of Palestinians to work in Israel. Yesterday, Channel Ten said that Kahlon and Bashara have agreed further measures including greater opportunities for Palestinian healthcare and high-tech professionals to receive training in Israel. Meanwhile, Palestinian construction companies would also be handed greater access to the Israeli market.
Channel Ten says that Israeli and Palestinian finance officials met as recently as last week and that Kahlon is preparing to present a series of recommendations to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within the coming days.
The development comes despite Israeli leaders having been alarmed recently at the prospect that the PA could collapse. It was reported last month that Israel’s diplomatic-security cabinet held two lengthy meetings to discuss the possibility in light of the ongoing violence, economic stagnation in the West Bank and political difficulties within the Palestinian leadership.
Nonetheless, security cooperation between Israel and the PA continues. Last week, PA forces said that they had thwarted an attack last week, seizing knives and pipe bombs from Palestinians attempting to enter Israel. Last month, Palestinian General Intelligence Service chief Majid Faraj told Defense News that the PA has foiled 200 attacks on Israelis since the current wave of violence began.