Israel 'must speed up effort to reopen borders'

A top Middle East envoy has criticised Israel in especially tough language for moving too slowly on negotiations to open Gaza’s borders, saying the country is behaving almost as if the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip never happened.

James Wolfensohn, a special envoy working on behalf of the United States and other foreign mediators, said in a report obtained today by The Associated Press that without dramatic progress soon, a rare chance to revive Gaza’s shattered economy – and the peace process – will be lost.

In the West Bank, meanwhile, Israeli troops killed a top Palestinian fugitive, prompting threats of revenge.

Israel closed the Rafah crossing into Egypt, Gaza’s main link to the outside world, shortly before withdrawing from Gaza last month. It also has severely restricted the passage of Palestinian labourers and goods in and out of Israel, the main Palestinian export market, since a wave of rocket attacks following the pullout.

Israeli officials say the measures are solely due to security considerations.

In his letter, Wolfensohn acknowledged such concerns but accused Israel of unnecessary delays in restoring movement across the borders. He said the stalling is preventing him from moving on to larger reconstruction efforts, such as tourism, agriculture and industrial projects.

“The government of Israel, with its important security concerns, is loath to relinquish control, almost acting as though there has been no withdrawal, delaying making difficult decisions and preferring to take difficult matters back into slow-moving subcommittees,” Wolfensohn wrote in the Oct. 17 letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

He said the differences could be quickly resolved, and expressed disappointment he didn’t reach a solution during a trip to the region earlier this month.

“While the Palestinians were eager to come to closure, (Israel) preferred to leave difficult questions to committees that will not meet until after the Jewish holidays,” he wrote. A month of Jewish holidays ends this week.

Among other issues, he said Israel delayed a key element of new border arrangements – the deployment of foreign inspectors from the European Union at Rafah.

The reopening of the borders is essential for economic recovery in Gaza, where unemployment is well over 30 percent.

“We all were hoping after the withdrawal the economic recovery will be enhanced. What has happened is exactly the contrary,” said Palestinian Planning Minister Ghassan Khatib. “In the current situation, Gaza is really like a big prison.”

The Israeli closures have cast a pall over Gaza during the current Muslim holy month of Ramadan – normally a time of celebration and shopping. With imports greatly hampered, store shelves lie bare, fruits like apples and bananas are hard to come by, and merchants complain that their businesses face ruin.

Basem Said, owner of a clothing store in Gaza City, said he has been waiting for weeks for a shipment to arrive from Turkey through an Israeli cargo crossing.

“I have only a few things left from last year’s collection, and my customers are leaving my shop,” he said. “The crossing is like oxygen for us.”

In his letter, Wolfensohn also criticised the Palestinians for raising salaries during a fiscal crisis, for their inability to control violence and chaos and the Palestinian Authority’s inability to function properly.

“My ... agenda is only a beginning – but it is a gate way through which we must step if we are to get back to the road map, and move to a settlement of this bitter and wasteful conflict,” wrote Wolfensohn, referring to the stalled “road map” peace plan.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the government wants Gaza to be a “success story” and understands the need to reopen the border crossings. But he said Israel’s security must be kept in mind.

“We have to move ahead on the crossings issue by balancing the very real security threats with the desire to allow for maximum possible movement of people and goods,” Regev said.

Israel’s Army Radio said that Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz would travel to Egypt on Wednesday for talks on the border issue, and officials said the Israeli Cabinet would discuss the matter on Sunday.

Israeli officials pointed to last month’s rocket barrage out of Gaza, as well as ongoing violence in the West Bank, as reason for moving with caution.

In the latest fighting, Israeli troops killed a top Palestinian fugitive and a close accomplice in a pre-dawn shootout in the Tulkarem refugee camp. The wanted man, Luay Saadi, was the leader of Islamic Jihad group’s military wing in the West Bank and was blamed for the deaths of 12 Israelis in a series of attacks in recent months.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said the killings threatened regional security, and Islamic Jihad threatened revenge.

“Our retaliation for this crime will be unprecedented,” said a spokesman for the group in Gaza, who only gave his code name, Abu Abdallah, for fear of Israeli reprisals.