The American government agency OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation) and the National Insurance Company, located in the Palestinian Authority (PA) have signed an agreement to provide risk insurance for exporters in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. They agreed to the new initiative at an investors conference in Bethlehem, Associated Press reported.
The news agency also stated that the PA economy "has been severely hampered by Israeli restrictions" on trade since the Oslo War broke out in 2000. However, it emphasized that delays at checkpoints interfere with trade but did not cite that the Arab economy in Judea, Samaria and Gaza prospered after Israel took responsibility for the area from 1967 until the Intifada began in the late 1980s.