 |
|
A 'better' West Bank faces roadblocks
International efforts are under way to inject new life into the Palestinian economy in the West Bank, something Israel hopes will contrast life under the Fatah government with life under Hamas rule.
By Ilene R. Prusher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the August 21, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 2
Ramallah, West Bank - Even for those considered to be among the most successful Palestinian entrepreneurs, staying in business sometimes feels more like something you do on principle rather than for profit.
That's how it looks to Mazen Sinokrot, the chairman and CEO of a company that produces, among other consumer goods, cookies and candies. The state of conflict with Israel, particularly since the Al Asqa Intifada broke out seven years ago this September, has meant decreased access for goods and dwindling profit margins.
"We deserve to earn 10 percent a year," Mr. Sinokrot says. "But for what we are earning, if I just sell out my investment and put the money in the bank, I'd make more than I do maintaining the company."
Convincing him to keep the doors open despite such calculations, he says, are the 360 workers who would otherwise be out of a job, and the 2,000 people they support.
Substantial talks between the new Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel may become a reality now that Hamas has split from the Palestinian government. In response, regional and international leaders are floating a host of ideas to jump-start an economic renaissance in the West Bank – one that many hope could pave the way to Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation.
Among the ideas, according to the Palestinian Economists Association, are the creation of industrial zones in the West Bank to absorb workers once employed in Israel, investing in agricultural upgrades, and building public transportation.
Other proposals recently raised include a joint tourism project among Israel, Jordan, and the would-be Palestinian state along the Dead Sea. Israel's plan for a "peace corridor" project, being promoted by Israeli President Shimon Peres, calls for produce from Jericho to be marketed abroad via Jordan and for the establishment of a new airport on the Jordanian side of the border.
But on the ground, Palestinian business leaders and economists say that the roads to recovery still run through too many Israeli checkpoints – or hit a wall altogether.
The high cost of checkpoints
Sinokrot, for example, used to send his driver from the family-owned factory in Ramallah to Nablus three times a day. Now he can make only one trip a day because of the copious amounts of time he can expect to spend at Israeli checkpoints across the West Bank.
"With what I have to pay for his same salary, I can only make one delivery a day, not three," he says.
And since Israel's disengagement from Gaza, he says, his company lost access to the coastal strip because of the increased frequency with which Israel closed its border crossings. Between 1998 and 2000, he says, about 3 percent of his turnover went to paying for logistics and distribution. Now, it's between 7 percent and 9 percent. The final result, he says, is that the cost of moving goods around is higher here than almost anywhere else in the world – about $4,000 for 50 miles of distance.
"It's a lot of money for consumer products, and it's being sold to a public that has lower and lower income levels each year," he complains.
RSS feed