From Khalid Amayreh in Bethlehem
"A three-day economic conference aimed at attracting foreign investments to revive the dilapidated Palestinian economy got underway in this southern Palestinian town on Wednesday amid tight security......
Participants included dozens of Diaspora-based Palestinian investors as well a high-level delegation from the United Arab Emirates which arrived aboard a Jordanian army helicopter directly from Amman, apparently in coordination with Israel. It is believed that at least seven Israeli investors are participating in the conference.
However, Hussein al Sheikh, head of the liaison and coordination office, said the Israeli authorities refused to give entry visas to a number of invitees. His remarks illustrated the fact that Israel still tightly controls access to the West Bank, an overwhelming factor PA officials often pretend it didn’t exist......
Critics, some of whom associated with the Palestinian opposition, castigated the organizers of the conference, accusing them of “normalizing relations with Israel at the expense of our national cause and struggle for freedom and independence.”
A press release jointly by the National Committee for Boycotting Israel (NCBI) and the National Committee for Commemorating the Nakba (NCCN) charged that the conference would only increase Palestinian economic subservience to Israel......
The press release also pointed out that the business ventures being pursued would meet the needs of the Israeli occupation and Israeli economy, first and foremost......
Palestinian economist Adel Samara criticized the conference, calling it an exposed attempt to reproduce the Oslo-era illusions.
“They are trying to deceive us again. During the so-called Oslo years, they told us that Gaza would become the Singapore of the Middle East and that the West Bank would be the hub of economic growth and prosperity. What actually happened is that Gaza became a concentration camp and the West Bank sank deeper and deeper in the quagmire of the occupation.”
Samara lashed out at the PA, calling them a “gang of money-grabbing careerists who are sacrificing Palestinian national interests for the sake of their immediate financial interests.”
He also accused the PA of “ pimping Arab investors to normalize with Israel.”
“This is a disgraceful economic normalization between the Arab states and Israel and it is happening at the expense of the Palestinian national cause.”
Samara scoffed at PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyadh for saying that “the presence of (PA chairman Mahmoud) Abbas at the conference was a proof of its success.”“You see the level of logic used by our prime minister. Even a school third-grader would not talk like this.”......
Israeli President Shimon Peres has also been pushing for an economy-first approach for the resolution of the Palestinian plight. Peres apparently thinks that economic inducements could eventually convince a considerable segment of the Palestinians to be more “flexible” in negotiations with Israel......."
"A three-day economic conference aimed at attracting foreign investments to revive the dilapidated Palestinian economy got underway in this southern Palestinian town on Wednesday amid tight security......
Participants included dozens of Diaspora-based Palestinian investors as well a high-level delegation from the United Arab Emirates which arrived aboard a Jordanian army helicopter directly from Amman, apparently in coordination with Israel. It is believed that at least seven Israeli investors are participating in the conference.
However, Hussein al Sheikh, head of the liaison and coordination office, said the Israeli authorities refused to give entry visas to a number of invitees. His remarks illustrated the fact that Israel still tightly controls access to the West Bank, an overwhelming factor PA officials often pretend it didn’t exist......
Critics, some of whom associated with the Palestinian opposition, castigated the organizers of the conference, accusing them of “normalizing relations with Israel at the expense of our national cause and struggle for freedom and independence.”
A press release jointly by the National Committee for Boycotting Israel (NCBI) and the National Committee for Commemorating the Nakba (NCCN) charged that the conference would only increase Palestinian economic subservience to Israel......
The press release also pointed out that the business ventures being pursued would meet the needs of the Israeli occupation and Israeli economy, first and foremost......
Palestinian economist Adel Samara criticized the conference, calling it an exposed attempt to reproduce the Oslo-era illusions.
“They are trying to deceive us again. During the so-called Oslo years, they told us that Gaza would become the Singapore of the Middle East and that the West Bank would be the hub of economic growth and prosperity. What actually happened is that Gaza became a concentration camp and the West Bank sank deeper and deeper in the quagmire of the occupation.”
Samara lashed out at the PA, calling them a “gang of money-grabbing careerists who are sacrificing Palestinian national interests for the sake of their immediate financial interests.”
He also accused the PA of “ pimping Arab investors to normalize with Israel.”
“This is a disgraceful economic normalization between the Arab states and Israel and it is happening at the expense of the Palestinian national cause.”
Samara scoffed at PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyadh for saying that “the presence of (PA chairman Mahmoud) Abbas at the conference was a proof of its success.”“You see the level of logic used by our prime minister. Even a school third-grader would not talk like this.”......
Israeli President Shimon Peres has also been pushing for an economy-first approach for the resolution of the Palestinian plight. Peres apparently thinks that economic inducements could eventually convince a considerable segment of the Palestinians to be more “flexible” in negotiations with Israel......."
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