RAMALLAH, Nov 18: The Palestinian prime minister and the Israeli defence minister will announce a number of economic projects that could create tens of thousands of jobs for Palestinians and give a sense of progress on the ground, international Mideast envoy Tony Blair said on Sunday.
Among the projects will be a Turkish-sponsored industrial park in the southern West Bank, a sewage project in northern Gaza and road construction in the West Bank, a Palestinian official said.
The projects are scheduled to be unveiled on Monday by Blair, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak.
The projects are “designed to give some sense things could change on the ground,” Blair said in a joint news conference in Ramallah with Fayyad and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
Blair did not provide details, but earlier told the French weekly Journal du Dimanche that the projects, if successful, “will represent tens of thousands of jobs for the Palestinians”.In Jerusalem, visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband supported the initiative. “I think that all of us have to get into the mind-set of thinking, yes, how can we help politically, but also how can we help economically, socially,” he said on Sunday. “There is a chance now that the economic, social, security and political aspects of a long-term deal can be aligned.”—AP
