Efforts to attract foreign investment into the West Bank are accelerating, despite fears that U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel are foundering, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in an interview.
Mr. Fayyad is spearheading his government’s push to revive economic activity in the Palestinian territories and strengthen its institutions, as talks with Israel to formalize a Palestinian state continue. In support of this economic drive, Mr. Fayyad [unveiled last week] in Washington investments by Intel Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and TouchStar in start-up businesses in the West Bank and Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed from Jordan in 1967. …
"What we’re trying to do is move where we can, the most we can, as soon as we can do it," Mr. Fayyad said. These investments happen "to be something that’s not sensitive to economic restrictions" such as Israeli roadblocks that limit access to the territories. "Of course, we hope we’ll get to the point where there are no such restrictions," he added.
Mr. Fayyad said the Palestinian Authority has established a venture-capital fund to integrate American and Israeli technology and capital into the Palestinian territories. A Palestinian insurance company is working with the U.S. government’s Overseas Private Investment Corp. to provide risk insurance to companies investing in the territories. "People are beginning to see a difference on the ground," Mr. Fayyad said. Access the full article>>