Kerry calls for private investment in West Bank, Gaza

JERUSALEM – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday proposed a $4 billion private-sector economic initiative for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, predicting it would transform the lives of Palestinians but warning it should not be seen as a substitute for Palestinian statehood.

At a World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan, Kerry – who met last week with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an effort to restart peace talks – said the economic campaign would be the most ambitious attempted since the Oslo peace accords 20 years ago.

“Visionary investment has the ability to change the world,’’ Kerry told the gathering. But he added, “This effort is only part of the answer….The economic approach is not a substitute for the political approach.”

Led by Mideast Quartet envoy and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the program was put together in recent weeks by a group of international corporate executives, investors and analysts, Kerry said.

The group is expected to make proposals to the Palestinian Authority to improve tourism, construction, agriculture and other industries. If implemented, Kerry said, the programs would cut Palestinian unemployment from 21% to 8%, increase wages by 40% and boost the overall Palestinian economy.

He released no details about the projects or where the private money would come from. Investment in the West Bank has long suffered due to the Israeli occupation and control over borders.

Kerry had hoped to wrest some economic concessions from Israel to improve the Palestinian economy, such as relinquishing control over some key parcels of land, but Israel so far has balked.

Separately Sunday, a group of 300 Israeli and Palestinian business leaders calling themselves “Breaking the Impasse,” called upon politicians on both sides to implement a two-state solution. The group is led by Palestinian billionaire Munib al-Masri and Israeli high-tech guru Yossi Vardi.

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