(CNS News) Julie Stahl - Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres met with Mohammed Dahlan, the PA Minister for Civil Affairs, on Wednesday to discuss ways to make the "peace process" more real and relevant to the average Palestinian by helping to solve some of their daily problems. Poverty, unemployment, and hunger are rife, particularly in the Gaza Strip. Peres and Dahlan discussed areas of potential cooperation, including the freedom of movement of goods and people; the transfer of existing Israeli businesses to Palestinians; job creation; and improving the standard of living, according to Peres' office. There are 1,000 acres of high-tech, state-of-the-art Israeli-owned greenhouses in the Gaza Strip that Peres sees creating 20,000 jobs for Palestinians. "Israel is negotiating with the Americans and with others, with the international community, to leave all the infrastructure of the hothouses to the Palestinians through a third party," said Yonaton Bassi, who heads the government's disengagement authority, on Wednesday.
2005-03-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive