Fuente : World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org

Israel, Palestinians Reach Deal On Disposal Of Rubble

/noticias.info/ Israel and the Palestinians have reached an agreement on the disposal of rubble from the demolished homes in evacuated Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, Dow Jones reports officials from the two sides said Wednesday.

Under the deal, Israel will demolish all homes in the 21 empty settlements and remove asbestos and any other hazardous materials. The Palestinians will remove the remaining rubble, keeping recyclable materials for construction projects and transferring the remainder to a third party - most likely companies in neighboring Egypt. Israel will pay for the cost of removal, which is expected to be about $30 million. Officials close to the negotiations said Israel has already signed the agreement, and that the Palestinians were expected to do so soon. They said the cleanup money would be transferred through the World Bank.

Israel, which completed the Gaza pullout on Tuesday, has already begun demolishing the homes in the settlements. It expects to complete the demolitions by early September, while leaving public buildings intact for Palestinian use. Israel also withdrew from four West Bank settlements. Officials said Israel would remove all materials from the demolished settlements.

The Associated Press further reports that Israel is proposing a dual crossing between Gaza and Egypt to allow for free exit from Gaza but control over goods entering the territory, Israeli defense officials said Wednesday. The crossing is Gaza's only land link to the outside world without passing through Israel, which plans to maintain control over the territory's Mediterranean seacoast and its airspace. Under the plan, approved in a meeting chaired by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, the current Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt would become a one-way exit for people and goods with no Israeli supervision. A new crossing would be opened near Kerem Shalom, an Israeli farming village at the point where the Egyptian, Israeli and Gaza borders come together for incoming people and goods. Israel would maintain supervision over goods imported into Gaza, in accordance with the "customs envelope" agreed on in interim peace accords in the mid-90s.

Palestinian Economics Minister Mazen Sonnoqrot rejected the Israeli proposal. He said the Palestinians want to maintain the Rafah crossing for both people and goods, with no Israeli supervision in either direction. In negotiations that involved Palestinian officials and international mediator James Wolfensohn, Israel rejected the idea of international observers at Rafah to supervise entry of goods and people. Wolfensohn's office said Wednesday that the dual crossing idea is new and has not been brought up in negotiations so far.

The Washington Post also notes Israeli military forces expect to be out of Gaza in mid-September, completing a withdrawal from the territory after 38 years of occupation, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Wednesday. While it intends to remove troops from a Gaza-Egypt border strip where it tried to stop arms-smuggling to Palestinian militants, Israel has not said when it will turn over Gaza's side of the border crossings to Palestinian control. Israel is loath to give up all external powers over Gaza until Abbas shows he can curb militants opposed to peacemaking.

The New York Times adds that Israeli officials confirmed Wednesday that the government had issued orders to seize West Bank land needed to extend the separation barrier around the largest Jewish settlement, Maale Adumim, and link it to Jerusalem. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's cabinet agreed in principle in February that Maale Adumim, which has nearly 30,000 residents and is about three miles east of Jerusalem, would be included inside the West Bank separation barrier. Israel also plans to build an additional 3,500 houses and apartments in the settlement. notas_de_prensa_archivo