Palestinians seek economic disengagement through West Bank port
In a Gaza market
Aziza Nofal reports in Al-Monitor:
Hussein al-Sheikh, the head of the General Authority for Civil Affairs, discussed the establishment of a land port in the West Bank during a meeting with the private sector at the Ramallah and al-Bireh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Oct. 7. The land port would receive goods entering the Palestinian territories from Israeli ports.
“There is an Israeli agreement to establish this port, but on their terms, which has delayed its establishment so far,” Sheikh said. He added that Israel would only allow the entry of certain goods. The Palestinian side rejected this and demanded customs clearance for all goods imported by Palestinian traders to this port.
This problem is not new. The Palestinian-Israeli agreement in September 2012 to establish this port also ended in failure and without an agreement on the location of the port. This time, however, Sheikh said if the port was established it would be in the town of Tarqumiyah, where the Palestinian Authority’s Palestinian Industrial Estates and Free Zones Authority (PIEFZA) is located, and it would be affiliated with the Tarqumiyah industrial zone.
PIEFZA head Ali Shaath said that the authority is making arrangements to establish the port within the industrial zone in Tarqumiyah. The port zone will consist of three sections: the factories, the land port area and a logistics zone serving both sides. The industrial zone will be completely funded by China.