Car crossing eases Israeli Arab commerce in W.Bank
by Wael al-Ahmad

Reuters    Translate This Article
11 November 2009

JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel inaugurated a car crossing point on Tuesday that will let its Arab citizens trade and tour in the northern West Bank more easily.

Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair hailed the crossing at Jalame as a boost to the Palestinian economy.

The expanded crossing near Jenin in the northern West Bank is expected to allow through several hundred cars per day, shortening the journey time into the Israeli-occupied territory for Israeli Arabs, a defence official said.

The new car crossing is expected to be used by Israeli Arabs who live in areas near the northern West Bank, the spokesman said. Israel has 1.5 million Arab citizens who make up 20 percent of the population.

In recent years, the Jalame crossing has mainly been used by goods vehicles travelling in and out of the West Bank and by Palestinians with permits to enter Israel for work or medical treatment.

At a ceremony attended by Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom on the Israeli side of the crossing, Blair described the opening as 'a really big deal'.

Blair, envoy for the international Quartet of Middle East mediators, said Jenin's economy stood to prosper.

'As that happens, relations between the peoples will improve,' he said.

But highlighting Palestinian frustrations with stalled peace negotiations, Jenin governor Qadoura Moussa said political stability must come before economic stability.

Israel has eased some restrictions on West Bank movement, declaring it wants to strengthen the economy of the territory where the U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority is based.

With Egyptian help, Israel maintains a tight blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas Islamists committed to armed struggle against the Jewish state.

Shalom said the Jalame crossing would allow hundreds of vehicles through every day: 'It will bring better growth to Jenin and to the Palestinians as a whole.'

Jenin was the scene of heavy fighting during a Palestinian uprising against Israel that erupted in 2000.

Moussa, leading a low-level Palestinian delegation at the ceremony, called for the crossing to be opened 24 hours a day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that shoring up the Palestinian economy in the West Bank would be a goal of his rightist government and help spur peace efforts.

The United States has so far failed to relaunch peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded Israel first halt settlement building in the West Bank. Netanyahu has refused. The International Monetary Fund said in July that the West Bank economy could strengthen significantly this year if Israel continued easing restrictions on Palestinian trade and movement.

In Gaza, however, many businesses have closed and poverty has risen.

(Additional reporting by Sangwon Yoon in Jerusalem; Writing by Tom Perry in Ramallah; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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