Israel to Close Industrial Park Near Gaza

Middle East - AP

Israel to Close Industrial Park Near Gaza

Date: Tue, Jun 08, 2004

JERUSALEM - Israeli Trade and Industry Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that Israel will close the joint Israeli-Palestinian industrial park at a main crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip (news - web sites).

Olmert's statement came two days after the Israeli Cabinet voted in principle to pull out of the Gaza Strip.

"I have decided to remove all the Israel-owned factories from Erez and to transfer them to cities in southern Israel," Olmert said, adding that factory owners would be compensated for the costs of the move.

The park at the Erez crossing, at the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, has been a frequent target of Palestinian militants during since violence erupted in 2000, causing extended closures that kept out the 4,000 Palestinian workers.

Set up two decades ago, the Erez industrial park was to be a prototype of cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians, providing jobs for Palestinian workers and labor for Israeli factories without the necessity of security checks required of Palestinians who cross into Israel.

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