CIAO DATE: 10/05

The Erez and Gaza Industrial Estates: Catalysts for Development

Abstract

The political and economic landscape in the Middle East is changing in ways that would have been hard to imagine months ago. With changes in governments, the near cessation of violence, the more active reengagement of the United States in the peace process, and various positive signals from both sides, including direct meetings between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is entering a period of relative optimism. Recent indications are that the Palestinian Authority is ready to work jointly with five parallel working groups being set up by the Government of Israel to address different aspects of the planned disengagement from Gaza, and the Quartet Principals1 have appointed outgoing World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn as Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement. The Special Envoy is charged with leading, overseeing and coordinating the international community's efforts in support of the disengagement initiative.

While the situation remains complex, sensitive and also fragile, there is a near general consensus that a window of opportunity has been created, that should be used to the fullest extent possible. Direct bilateral discussions between the parties may well result in expanding common ground, which in turn may make major steps towards the resolution of the conflict possible. Meanwhile, however, there is a clear and urgent need for practical discussions that are directly related to the immediate challenges presented by the process of unilateral disengagement from Gaza and the northern part of the West Bank, announced by the Government of Israel (GOI) as early as December 2003.

Full text (PDF, 34 pages, 259.1 KB)

The Erez and Gaza Industrial Estates maps (PDF, 13 pages, 1.2 MB)