Turkey is committed to Palestinian industrial project.

Monday December 10, 2007 17:55 by Brian Kenny - IMEMC Staff

The General Turkish council to Jerusalem Orogan Ozur, stated on Monday that preparations are well underway to start the implementation of an agreement signed in mid-November in Ankara between Israel, Palestine and Turkey

The agreement which was signed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli president Shimon Paress and Turkish President Rajab Ordugon relates to the construction of an industrial zone in the Tarqumiya area, in the northern part of the West Bank.  

The Turkish official said attention now turns to the Paris economic conference where it is hoped that funding for the industrial zone will be forthcoming. The zone itself will be located on the green line which separates Israel and the West bank.  

Ozur, who served as a Turkish ambassador to both Jordan and the UAE, added that Turkish business people have shown a willingness to invest in such a zone. Its unique location will allow goods and businessmen to flow freely into and out of the zone.  

The Turkish official reiterated the importance of implementing the project as soon as possible and not to wait until some of the outstanding issues between Palestine and Israel have been finalized.  

A group of major businessmen from the Northern West Bank cities of Hebron and Bethlehem have established a company to invest in the Tarqumiya industrial zone with a capital investment of US$ 25,000,000.  

The mayor of Hebron city, Khaled Al Assali,  who is also an investor in the project, said that the industrial zone will be unique because it will have companies which do not require borders  such as information technology and telecommunicates companies and so borders will not limit its activity,  

He added that the city of Hebron will use 200 dunhams(1,000 sq meters) of land for this industrial zone. In addition, Al Assali said that there will be a lot of incentives to attract foreign and Arab investors to the project. Palestinian authority law will relieve the Palestinian products which are manufactured in the zone from taxes.  

Israeli policy had always been the reason for not establishing industrial zones in the West Bank and Gaza with 'security' being the usual rhetoric. Therefore Turkish sources stated that Turkey will control the security inside the industrial zones while the Palestinian Authority and Israel will control the external security of the zone from their respective sides of the border.      

Translated by Ghassan Bannoura – IMEMC News

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