U.S. officials to promote Palestinian investments By David Lawder Tue May 20, 5:15 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials said on Tuesday they aim to address economic roadblocks in the Palestinian territories -- including actual Israeli roadblocks and security risks -- at an investment conference in Bethlehem this week. The Palestine Investment Conference will include announcements of hundreds of millions of dollars in public-private business grants, loan guarantees, venture capital funds and affordable mortgages to spur the Palestinian economy, officials from the U.S. delegation told a news briefing.The conference is intended to spur investor interest in the Palestinian Territories by showcasing business opportunities and projects ready to be launched, said Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt, who is heading the U.S. delegation.He said the Bush administration was committed to improving economic prospects for Palestinian people to give the political process a chance to unfold.However, he acknowledged that the U.S. initiatives are primarily aimed at the West Bank and East Jerusalem, not the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.Also participating in the May 21-23 conference will be Middle East envoy Tony Blair and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, as well as executives from major U.S. firms such as Intel Corp., Cisco Systems Inc and Merrill Lynch & Co..
The U.S. officials acknowledged that restrictions on movement and checkpoints can bring business to a halt, and ongoing security problems are deterring investment, particularly from foreign firms. But a coordinated approach to security with Israel can help ease such bottlenecks, Kimmitt said.You cannot develop any Palestinian economy without easing up on checkpoints and mobility, said Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine, a Washington-based nonprofit group and a member of the U.S. delegation.He said Israel has taken a tiny baby step towards addressing this issue by allowing increased mobility and access for the conference in Bethlehem, which he hoped develop into greater access for broader economic development.
HOME BUILDING BOOM
Asali said a key highlight will be opportunities in the home building sector, where there is much pent-up demand for housing in territories that have not seen any new towns or villages developed since the Israeli occupation in 1967.Licenses to build up to 30,000 homes are now being considered, and key announcements on moving forward with construction are expected at the conference, he said.
You can imagine the thousands of jobs that will be created instantly, that will be visible and palpable to the (Palestinian) people, Asali said.To aid the housing sector, the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. intends to announce a new $500 million fund to provide affordable mortgages to Palestinians of up to $75,000, said OPIC director Robert Mosbacher.He said a partnership between OPIC, the Middle East Investment Initiative, the Aspen Institute and a Palestinian-based insurance firm would announce plans for a new insurance product aimed at trade disruption.The insurance would cover up to $75,000 in losses from a disruption in business per incident, and this would help firms wire around sudden mobility or security problems.
WIMAX GRANT
Among grants to be signed at the conference is a $480,000 U.S. Trade and Development Agency grant to BCI Communications and Advanced Technologies, a Ramallah-based firm that is considering deploying high-speed wireless Web network based on the emerging WiMax technology. The grant will fund a feasibility study and development of a business plan. WiMax, the next generation beyond short-range WiFi wireless communications technology, promises to blanket entire cities with Internet access for laptops, cell phones and other consumer devices at fast speeds. USTDA director Larry Walther said the technology could bring down communications costs and put 45,000 more broadband Internet users online by its fourth year. The network would create a window to the world for Palestinians and help spur business activity, he said. (Reporting by David Lawder;)
Israeli strikes, raid kill 5 Palestinians in Gaza Tue May 20, 4:40 PM ET
GAZA (Reuters) - Three Israeli air strikes and a raid in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed three Hamas militants and two Palestinian civilians, local medical workers and the Islamist group said. Israeli troops clashed with gunmen during a raid near Gaza City, killing one gunman, Hamas said.Earlier, an air strike east of Gaza City killed two Hamas gunmen, one of whom died of his wounds in hospital, and wounded three civilians, medical workers said.An Israeli army spokeswoman denied that a ground incursion had been carried out but confirmed the air strike and said the target was a group of militants with anti-tank weapons.She also said an earlier strike in the northern Gaza Strip was aimed at a crew that had just launched rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot.
Palestinian medical workers said the militants had fled the area just before the strike and that a youth was killed.A third strike in the central Gaza Strip killed a farmer and wounded two other Palestinians, hospital officials said.The military spokeswoman said troops targeted militants who were planting explosives near the fence that Israel has erected along its border with Gaza.Egypt has been trying to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas to end Gaza border violence.Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have killed two Israeli civilians this month in agricultural communities close to the frontier.Israel frequently carries out raids and air strikes in the territory as part of what it describes as efforts to curb cross-border rocket fire.(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Writing by Ari Rabinovitch and Ori Lewis; Editing by Charles Dick)
Israel accepts Gaza truce in principle: Egypt by Ines Bel Aiba Tue May 20, 3:39 PM ET
CAIRO (AFP) - Egyptian state media announced on Tuesday that Israel has agreed in principle to a truce in and around Gaza and quoted calls by a top official for Palestinian militants to seize an historic opportunity. The announcement came after a day of renewed bloodshed in the territory controlled by the Islamist Hamas movement since last June with four people being killed in Israeli air raids, one of them a 13-year-old boy.Israeli leaders (have informed us) of their support for and understanding of the Egyptian proposals for a truce, Egypt's official MENA news agency quoted a senior official as saying without giving his name.Israel says it is ready to implement it as soon as Israeli leaders have been notified of the agreement of Palestinian organizations to parts of the truce proposals, the official added.He called on Palestinian militant groups to respond positively to the Israeli move, saying they should not pass up this historic opportunity.In Jerusalem, the Israeli government spokesman neither confirmed nor denied the Egyptian report.As far as we are concerned, we can only indicate that contacts are continuing, said Mark Regev, spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman -- who has acted as go-between in the negotiations between Israel and the militants -- conveyed the Israeli offer to a delegation from the Islamist Hamas group which controls Gaza earlier in the day, the Egyptian news agency said.A broader meeting of Palestinian factions is planned to discuss the modalities of the next phase and the start of implementation with intensified efforts by Egypt to resolve the two issues of an exchange of prisoners... and the complete lifting of the blockade, it added.Suleiman presented Egypt's initial proposals to Israeli leaders on May 12 after securing the endorsement of 12 Palestinian factions.But Israeli officials made their agreement conditional on progress in negotiations for the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants for almost two years since his capture in a deadly cross-border raid.Hamas has been insisting that Shalit's freedom is an entirely separate issue from the proposed truce and has been demanding the release of some 450 Palestinians from Israeli jails in exchange.The Islamists have also been demanding the lifting of an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip imposed after they seized power from forces loyal to moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas almost a year ago.They have been demanding in particular the reopening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, Gaza's only one that bypasses Israel, which previously operated in accordance with an international agreement between Abbas and the Jewish state that also involved the European Union.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak was in Egypt on Monday for talks with President Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.Barak finished those talks with a warning to Gaza militants that any perpetuation of the rocket and mortar fire of recent months would risk triggering a major ground offensive against the territory.The ongoing rocket fire against civilian targets and terror activity from the Gaza Strip could accelerate an escalation towards a military conflict, his office quoted him as saying.Barak also demanded an end to what Israel says is persistent weapons smuggling by Palestinian militant groups from Egypt into Gaza. A 13-year-old boy was among four Palestinians killed in the territory on Tuesday, in the latest in a spate of almost daily military action by Israel. The teenager, Majd Khalil Abu Okal, was killed in an air raid on Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, said Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services. At least 474 people have now been killed since Israel and the Palestinian leadership relaunched peace talks at a US-hosted conference in November, the vast majority of them Gaza militants, according to an AFP count.
IRAN MIDEAST ARMS RACE
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Iran nuclear plans could trigger Mideast arms race: study Tue May 20, 10:20 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - Iran's nuclear programme could trigger a race to develop atomic weapons in the Middle East, a study warned Tuesday, highlighting a recent surge of nuclear activity in countries in the region. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) noted that 13 countries had announced new or revived plans to pursue or explore civilian nuclear energy over an 11-month period between February 2006 and January 2007.This upsurge of interest is remarkable, given both the abundance of traditional energy sources in the region and the low standing to date of nuclear energy there, said the London-based group's chief executive John Chipman.If Tehran's nuclear programme is unchecked, there is reason for concern that it could in time prompt a regional cascade of proliferation among Iran's neighbours, he added.The IISS study assesses the nuclear activities of Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Algeria, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen and Syria.Israel is widely assumed to have a nuclear arsenal, although it has never admitted to joining the club of self-declared nuclear states including the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India and Pakistan.
A proliferation cascade would become more likely if Israel felt obliged to relinquish its long-standing doctrine of nuclear opacity, or ambiguity, whereby it refuses to confirm or deny any aspect of its nuclear activities, as this would increase the pressure on Egypt and perhaps other Arab states to seek their own nuclear deterrents, said Chipman.Iran's refusal to stop enriching uranium, in defiance of UN sanctions, has fuelled western suspicions that it is covertly developing an atomic bomb. The Islamic republic insists it wants only peaceful nuclear energy.
Washington has spearheaded efforts at the United Nations to rein in Iran's ambitions to master the nuclear fuel cycle, by imposing a series of sanctions, of which more are threatened.US President George W. Bush has repeatedly refused to rule out military action against Iran as a last resort.Mark Fitzpatrick, an IISS expert on non-proliferation and editor of the study, added: We take it for granted that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, adding that Iran could theoretically produce enough uranium for one by 2009.
Egyptian FM: US is fueling Middle East turmoil Mon May 19, 8:33 PM ET
SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - Egypt's foreign minister criticized President Bush' Mideast policies Monday, a day after the American leader lectured Arab leaders on their approach to governing. Bush took a strikingly tougher tone with Arab nations during his address to the World Economic Forum on the Middle East than he did with Israel in a speech last week.Israel received praise from the president while Arab nations heard a litany of U.S. criticisms mixed with some compliments.Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit responded Monday by saying U.S. support for Israel and its own actions in the Mideast helped fuel turmoil and a clash of civilizations between Muslims and the West.When we see ... an Israeli tank in an Arab city, a Palestinian city or an American tank in an Arab city firing arms, that makes people angry, said Aboul Gheit at a summit meeting linked to the economic forum being held in Sharm El-Sheik, a Red Sea resort town.The anger leads to lots of turmoil. Turmoil leads to instability, said Aboul-Gheit.
Bush lectured Arab nations Sunday on suppressing political opposition and religious freedom in the region. He also said Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.Would you please tell me, did anyone raise the issue of the Israeli capability? said Aboul Gheit on Monday to roaring applause. Why are you hiding the Israeli nuclear capability? Experts have long maintained Israel has nuclear weapons, although the Jewish state refuses to confirm or deny it.
France says it's had informal contacts with Hamas By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer Mon May 19, 5:06 PM ET
PARIS - France acknowledged on Monday that it had informal contacts with Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist organization for its campaign of violence against Israel. Washington swiftly condemned the move, but French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said such contacts are needed to gauge the humanitarian and political situation in the Middle East. He said other European countries had quietly done likewise, a contention supported by Hamas.The opening, however slight, exposed new discord over how to deal with an extremist group that much of the international community has treated as a pariah since it seized control of the Gaza Strip by force last June. Word of the contacts comes after former President Carter met with Hamas leaders in Syria last month.It was even more striking because French President Nicolas Sarkozy has embraced Israel since taking office a year ago, in contrast to predecessors who nurtured France's traditionally strong relations with the Arab world. But experts noted Sarkozy has signaled the need for bridges in response to Carter's contentious visit.
Speaking on French radio Europe-1, Kouchner insisted the French contacts with Hamas over several months did not amount to relations or negotiations.He did not delve into the substance of the contacts, but said Hamas has become more flexible — even if it still refuses to recognize the Jewish state's right to exist.These are contacts, and nothing else, to inform us about the situation — first on the humanitarian front, and then especially the political one. That's it, Kouchner told reporters later at the Foreign Ministry.I think ... we're not the only ones to have contacts of this type — just to inform ourselves — and particularly in the European Union, he added.The U.S. government frowned on Kouchner's comments and reiterated that the Bush administration feels Hamas should be shunned until it changes its behavior.We don't think it is wise or appropriate, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said We don't believe it is helpful to the process of bringing peace to the region.Israeli officials said they would seek clarification from Kouchner when he visited Israel later this week as part of a previously planned trip. Sarkozy is scheduled to visit the region next month.In Brussels, Belgium, European Union officials insisted the 27-member bloc had no official contact with Hamas — other than when EU aid officials come into contact intermittently with local elected leaders or low-level authorities on projects.Western officials noted the Quartet of Middle East mediators — the United States, EU, United Nations and Russia — has demanded Hamas renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept previous peace accords as a condition for any talks with the militant group.The French Foreign Ministry sought to play down the remarks by the frank-speaking Kouchner, insisting there was no change in French policy.Hamas quickly corroborated the French minister's report of contacts and it claimed communication with other European countries.
Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said talks were about exploring Hamas' positions on political issues and were not discussions about opening formal relations. It reflects Europe's awareness that it made a mistake in boycotting Hamas, he said, without identifying any countries.A Hamas legislator, Ismail Ridwan, told The Associated Press that there had been formal contacts, semi-formal, informal, in Gaza on ways to bring about talks. Hamas has had contact with Norwegians, Italians, Swedes and Russians, he said.
In a speech Sunday, Hamas' prime minister in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, said unidentified European delegations had been in Gaza recently to examine the Rafah border crossing and whether it could be reopened.Kouchner addressed the issue of contacts with Hamas in response to an interview published Monday in the Paris newspaper Le Figaro in which a retired French diplomat said he had met with Mahmoud Zahar, the Hamas strongman in Gaza, and with Haniyeh.
France's Foreign Ministry said later that the former diplomat, Yves Aubin de la Messuziere, had made the trip on an individual basis although the ministry had been informed. Aubin de la Messuziere told the newspaper that Hamas leaders said they were ready to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders — which amounts to an indirect recognition of Israel.They said they were ready to stop suicide attacks, and what surprised me is that the Islamist leaders recognize the legitimacy of Mahmoud Abbas, he said, referring to the moderate Palestinian president and leader of the Fatah movement — Hamas' main rival. France, a leading EU member, has sought to boost its role in the Mideast peace process under Sarkozy. It hosted an international donors conference that raised billions of dollars for the Palestinians in December. Associated Press Writers Diaa Hadid in Gaza City and Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report.
