West Bank truce linked to checkpoints

ISRAEL should remove 10 major West Bank checkpoints to give a badly needed boost to the Palestinian economy, a group of Israeli ex-generals and Palestinian officials said in a joint report yesterday.

Removing the roadblocks would not compromise security for Israel, through they cause major disruption to Palestinian trade and movement, said the report. Its authors include two former chiefs of Israel’s military government in the West Bank.

The report comes just days after the World Bank warned that the Palestinian economy is not likely to grow this year, due largely to continued Israeli restrictions on movement, and despite massive foreign aid.

Representatives of donor countries will meet in London later this week to review the aid effort — worth $7.7 billion (€4.9bn) pledged over three years.

The bank warned that more aid may be needed if the Palestinian economy doesn’t recover from several years of downturn. A recovery depends on easing restrictions, the bank said.

Israel says it’s willing, in principle, to ease restrictions, but Palestinian militants still pose a threat. However, yesterday’s study said Israel could ease up without compromising its security.

A removal of checkpoints is in Israel’s long-term interest because it would help defuse Palestinian resentment and improve the standard of living, said one of the authors, Israeli reserve Brig Gen Ilan Paz, who headed the West Bank’s military government from 2002-2005.

“If Israel wants the Palestinian economy to improve ... we have to change the reality in the West Bank,” said Paz. “We want to create a light at the end of the tunnel for Palestinians, so they won’t search for revenge or hatred against Israelis.

Meanwhile Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo for talks with Egyptian security officials have agreed to an Egyptian proposal for a truce with Israel starting in the Gaza Strip.

Some factions however, reserved the right to retaliate against Israeli attack.

Primate of all Ireland Cardinal Seán Brady, who is on a visit to the Holy Land, called on Israel to reconsider its rejection of Hamas’ offer of a truce last week.