BICOM

Against the backdrop of renewed peace talks, several new measures were announced by Israel yesterday, which are intended to improve the Palestinian economic reality.

Several rounds of peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian Authority (PA) delegations have taken place during the last month, although details of the negotiations have been kept quiet in order to prevent potential leaks which could hamper their progress. Given the atmosphere of constructive dialogue, Israel yesterday increased the number of work permits granted to West Bank Palestinians to its highest level since 2000, as the cabinet approved an additional five thousand permits, raising the number of permanent work permits to 48,000. Haaretz estimates that the livelihoods of around 100,000 West Bank Palestinians are reliant on work in Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli defence officials also announced yesterday that building materials for private projects would be allowed entry into the Hamas-held Gaza Strip for the first time in six years. 350 trucks of cement, steel and concrete will arrive each week, after Israel had restricted such materials for fear that they would be used by Hamas to strengthen its military capability. The Jerusalem Post says that the decision was made following a request by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction was violently removed from the Gaza Strip by Hamas in 2007.

Israel also announced that the Joint Water Committee with the PA will be convened, having remained dormant for several years, paving the way for Israel to provide an additional four million cubic metres of water annually to Palestinian West Bank areas, while a new water pipe to the Gaza Strip will double the water it receives from Israel.

These new measures come just a week before the Palestinian international donor conference is set to meet in New York. Israel’s delegation will be headed by Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot, coordinator of government activities in the West Bank.