Today, the 1,000th day of the Oslo War, Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane spoke with Ilan Roman, director of the Atarot Industrial Zone in northern Jerusalem, who was able to provide some good news. "The big picture is that the situation is improving," Roman said. "Despite the 1,000 days of Oslo War, our main problem was always transportation. People found it hard, and dangerous, to get to us [Atarot is located near Arab areas - ed. note]." The airport there has been closed since the Oslo War began, several workers in the area were murdered by terrorists, and businesses began closing down for fear of terrorism.
"However," Roman said, "since the opening of the new stretch of the Menachem Begin Highway leading directly to us (along the way to Modiin and Tel Aviv), we feel that things are really moving upwards. For instance, Israel Aircraft Industries has renewed its rental contract here, and other tens of thousands of square meters have also been rented out of late…Some plants have even begun to build here."
Asked what was the worst moment for Atarot in the 1,000 days of Oslo terrorism warfare, Roman answered immediately, "It was when a PA resident hired by a terrorist organization arose against his employer, Gadi Rejwan, and murdered him [in February 2002]. It wasn't a terrorist cell, but rather someone Gadi had supported for many years who simply got up and killed him. That was a really tough thing for us."
"However," Roman said, "since the opening of the new stretch of the Menachem Begin Highway leading directly to us (along the way to Modiin and Tel Aviv), we feel that things are really moving upwards. For instance, Israel Aircraft Industries has renewed its rental contract here, and other tens of thousands of square meters have also been rented out of late…Some plants have even begun to build here."
Asked what was the worst moment for Atarot in the 1,000 days of Oslo terrorism warfare, Roman answered immediately, "It was when a PA resident hired by a terrorist organization arose against his employer, Gadi Rejwan, and murdered him [in February 2002]. It wasn't a terrorist cell, but rather someone Gadi had supported for many years who simply got up and killed him. That was a really tough thing for us."