Gaza transport link agreement
2005-07-05 11:32
Jerusalem - Israel and the Palestinians have reached agreement in principle over the method of safe passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank immediately after Israel's pullout from Gaza this summer, public radio reported on Tuesday, citing Western diplomatic sources.
According to the report, Palestinians will be able to travel between the West Bank and Gaza in convoys escorted by Israeli security forces in the immediate aftermath of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer.
Israeli and Palestinian officials were not immediately available to comment on the report.
The plan has been submitted to officials from the World Bank and diplomats from the Mideast quartet and Israel and the Palestinian Authority are now awaiting their feedback, the radio said.
In the longer term, Israel has agreed to build a railway line which will link the Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip and Tarqumiya near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
The plans, which would facilitate movement of people and goods between the two territories, were approved by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in early June and have been put to the Palestinian Authority.
The railway option is likely to cost more than a previous proposal to build a 42km long underground road between the Palestinian territories, which would have cost 1.3 million dollars, the radio said, without specifying the cost of the rail proposal.