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Blair unveils plan to boost PA
economy
Nov 19,
2007 22:31 | Updated Nov 19, 2007 22:37
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Quartet envoy Tony Blair on Monday unveiled a
series of projects aimed at strengthening the Palestinian economy to bolster
peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem with Palestinian Authority
Prime Minister Salaam Fayad and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Blair announced
four major industrial and business projects aimed at revitalizing the
Palestinian economy.
The announcement is seen in the context of
efforts to boost the standing of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and regain the
Palestinian public's confidence in the peace process on the eve of the
US-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland.
"To create lasting peace,
three things must happen," the former British prime
minister said. "A clear political vision of a two-state solution; the
building of Palestinian capacity and institutions of governance - because
statehood is about more than geography and territory - and the facts on the
ground must not contradict the process of state building, but enhance it and
support it economically."
Blair said that the focus now was on creating
more jobs and greater prosperity for ordinary Palestinians on the ground. "In doing this, we do not separate the economic from the
political, or either from the security concerns, but we simply say,
in parallel with the Annapolis and Paris conferences, which focus on the
politics and the capacity building, we should give impetus to economic
progress," he explained.
"Obviously, all three aspects continue
to be linked. The greater the political progress, the easier the economic
progress. The greater the Palestinian capability on security, the easier the
politics and the economics."
He said that both Barak and Fayad were
committed to doing their utmost to boost the Palestinian economy.
"We have today
'greenlighted' four such projects," Blair said. "All have been
debated for some time. Now all can be given the go-ahead to happen. We will
meet again in December before the Paris conference and discuss progress
and hopefully 'greenlight' more."
The three men announced the establishment of
a mechanism to facilitate the implementation of key projects, which will be
carried out in the framework of the PA's Palestinian Development and Reform
Plan.
Blair unveiled plans for the Agro-Industrial
Park in Jericho, which will help Palestinians export goods to the European
Union. The project will be funded by the Japanese government.
He said that an emergency sewage treatment
project would help prevent the collapse of the sewerage system in the northern Gaza Strip.
Blair also unveiled plans for the
construction of a number of industrial zones in the West bank to create large
employment opportunities, both in the short and the long term.
Finally, he announced a project designed to
revive the Palestinian and Israeli tourism sector. As a first step, tourism in
Bethlehem will be promoted. This initiative will include measures aimed at
improving access to Bethlehem and upgrading the tourism facilities in the
Palestinian territories.
Blair said other projects were currently at different stages of
implementation. They include supporting the municipalities in delivering
critical services, including water, wastewater, solid waste, electrification
and road rehabilitation and measures to improve learning environments, training
teachers, and better tailoring public education programs to the needs of a
recovering market. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195127545828&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Tony Blair has stated about creating a lasting peace in the ME,
but in Isaiah 48:22 "There is no
peace for the wicked," says the LORD. How can there be peace for the Palestinians when they keep on murdering
innocent Jews? What hope have the Palestinians, for even as they
speak of peace, yet they plan to annihilate the whole Jewish population
eventually? What they fail to realise is that they are not contending with the
Jews, but with the Lord who had brought the Jews from all the corners of the
earth. Now the Palestinians want a piece of Jerusalem, the Holy
City, from which our Lord would rule the world in the Millennium.
The Lord told
Abraham in Genesis 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you, And
the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will
be blessed." There can be no peace or blessing for the people of ME as long
as they plot against the Jews.
Cuttingedge Ministry had
posted these article about the future statehood of Palestine. They are
very informative. No wonder the Israeli PM Olmert is ready to agree to
any preposterous demands from the PA, as long as they get this Peace Agreement
through. Whether they would honour it or not later would hardly matter,
for the fate of the Palestinians have been sealed by the Lord one way or
another. PA has to be out of the way, I guess so as to build the 3rd Temple that would stand during the Tribulation period. The AC too (in the
background) is in a hurry to get this Peace deal done so as to settle the PA
issue once and for all, as this has become a thorny issue for all concerned and
then get on with the Temple for the false messiah to occupy in the middle of
the 7 yr period.
The
people on the other side must have been informed too, by their ‘guiding
spirits’ that the time is near, just like we are getting nudges from the
Holy Spirit.
NEWS1422 -- "The Coming
Prophesied Annihilation of the Palestinians -- Today's 'House of Esau' "
(Posted October, 2000)
* NEWS1620 -- "Israeli Prime
Minister Sharon Declares Israel Will Build 'Physical Buffers" To
Physically Separate Palestinian Population From Jewish" (Posted March,
2002)
* NEWS1625 --
"Jewish Professor Accuses Sharon Government of Planning Palestinian
Genocide" (Posted March, 2002)
* NEWS2058 -- "Jewish Settler
Activists Issue Worldwide Warning -- Israeli Government Planning Massive Attack
On Palestinian Civilians In Gaza Strip After Withdrawing Jewish Settlers To
Safety!" (Posted July, 2005)