Palestinian minister calls for increasing investments in West Bank

GAZA, May 2 (KUNA) -- A Palestinian minister called on Sunday the Palestinian private sector to increase investments in the production of local goods to provide new job opportunities in the Palestinian territories.

Labor Minister Ahmad Majdalani told Voice of Palestine radio station that Palestinians used to buy goods manufactured in Israeli settlements with the value of USD 600 million every year before those products were banned from entering Palestinian territories.

Israeli strongly criticized last week the decision of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on banning the sale of products made in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories.

Israel's Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom said Sunday to Israel Radio that he considers the decision a scandal, accusing Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayadh of competing in showing extremism against Israel.

Majdalani said that it was important that the Palestinian private sector increases production and investment to provide Palestinian products that substitute for products that were imported from Israeli settlements.

That would provide about 50,000 new job opportunities, he pointed out.

He said that two industrial areas were being established in Bethlehem and Jenin, adding that the Palestinian authority was planning to launch several housing projects in the West Bank.

Karama national fund will be established to provide small amounts of money to people to enable them to start projects.

About 30,000 Palestinians work in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Israeli established ten settlement industrial areas in the West Bank and ten other industrial areas in settlements controlled by Jewish extremists.

Israeli media reported that many Israeli owners of factories in settlements were fearing the Palestinian boycott and that some called for banning the entrance of Palestinian traders to Israel to market their products.

Source: Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
Link: http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2080004&Language=en.