Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom met Wednesday morning with Palestinian Authority Minister of National Economy Bassem Khoury, in the first meeting between senior Israeli and PA representatives to take place since Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took office.
Shalom and Khoury met in Jerusalem to discuss ways in which Israel can help boost the PA economy. The two met privately for about a half hour, then continued the meeting along with representatives from the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, and Finance Ministry, as well as PA officials.
The meeting was described as “positive,” and Shalom and Khoury agreed to meet again every four to six weeks. They also agreed to establish committees that will be in more frequent contact.
Among the issues named in the meeting as important to “economic peace” were entry permits for PA businessmen, the export of dairy products from PA towns to Israel, the import of meat to Judea and Samaria, and medical treatment in Israel for PA Arabs.
Also discussed were a planned industrial zone in Jenin and a planned Christian pilgrimage site along the Jordan River.
Prior to the meeting, Shalom expressed satisfaction that the PA had reversed its decision to freeze all meetings until Israel agreed to concessions in Judea and Samaria. “I'm glad that the Palestinians understand that boycotting talks with the Israeli government was harmful primarily to them,” he said. “As I've said, our goal is economic peace, and that does not impede political dialogue, but rather helps it along.”
Request for Care Follows PA Libel
Khoury's request that Israel provide medical treatment to PA Arabs follows on the heels of accusations from another senior PA official that Israeli doctors deliberately make PA Arabs sick. PA Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqi accused Israel of conducting medical experiments on PA prisoners held in Israel.
Qaraqi also claimed that the fact that roughly 0.25 percent of PA Arab prisoners in Israel have been diagnosed with cancer proves that Israel keeps the prisoners in substandard conditions that lead to illness. He accused Israeli guards of deliberately withholding medical treatment.