ABOUT 20 Israeli suppliers will help build the first modern Palestinian city in the West Bank but only after promising they will not use products or services from Israeli settlements, the project’s developer said on Tuesday.
The announcement angered the Jewish settlers, who accused the suppliers of caving in to an international boycott of settlement goods and businesses.
The West Bank city of Rawabi, going up 30km north of Jerusalem, is a key part of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s plans to lay the groundwork for a future Palestinian state, regardless of progress in peace talks.
The participation of Israeli companies in its construction is both an ironic twist on the heavy use of Palestinian labourers in building Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and a powerful reminder of how much the 43 years of Israeli occupation have made the Palestinian economy reliant on Israel.
Project developer Bashar Masri told The Associated Press that he tries to use Palestinian suppliers whenever possible. But when necessary, he turns to Israeli firms on condition that products and services from any territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mid-east war – the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights – are not used.
‘Settlements are diabolical. They steal Palestinian land and are an obstacle to an independent Palestinian state, and it’s time for us to put an end to that harm,’ Mr Masri said.