World Bank urges urgent action to open Israel-Gaza crossings

A senior World Bank official on Tuesday welcomed a landmark Israeli decision to allow European inspectors to deploy on the Gaza-Egypt border, but said the clogged crossings from Gaza into Israel need to be streamlined urgently to give the crippled Gaza economy a chance to recover.

The cabinet on Tuesday approved the deployment of European inspectors at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, a breakthrough that would grant the Palestinians some freedom of movement without Israeli controls for the first time in four decades.

According to the decision, the EU personnel will enforce security procedures stipulated by Israel.

"It's a very big step, it's a significant new departure in Israeli policy, it's a major development," Nigel Roberts, the bank's director for the West Bank and Gaza Strip told The Associated Press.

Though most attention has been focused on the Rafah issue, Roberts said opening and expanding the capacity of the Karni crossing from Gaza into Israel is more urgent, because fresh Palestinian produce must be exported this month.

rest of article...

Roberts said opening up the bottleneck at the Karni goods terminal between Gaza and Israel is a must, and it needs to be done quickly as the Palestinian harvest approaches and perishable agricultural exports head for the crossing.

In the wake of a January 2005 Palestinian attack on Karni in which six Israeli guards and three Palestinian raiders died, Israel introduced stringent security checks, slashing the daily flow of around 100 Gazan trucks into Israel. Roberts said that since the September Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a combination of Jewish and Muslim holidays and frequent Israeli closures of the crossing for security reasons has choked traffic still further - from 35 trucks a day to around 12.

Roberts said that research showed that trade demand was for about 150 trucks a day to transit the crossing, a target which could be met by Israeli-Palestinian cooperation and extra resources, such as extending the shifts of terminal workers. He said that while there had been no bilateral talks on the issue for the past eight weeks, they were expected to resume next week.

"I hope that everybody is seized by a sense of urgency here," Roberts said. "We're already in November and the agricultural crop is going to start to be harvested later this month. At the moment the capacity is clearly inadequate to handle the coming season's agricultural harvest.?

Cabinet welcomes EU force at Rafah border crossing The cabinet said in a statement issued after the meeting, that stationing an EU force is of great importance to Israel, and that it is vital that the EU personnel are granted substantial enforcement capabilities.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Italian Foreign Minister Ginafranco Fini in Jerusalem that Israel wishes to consider EU operatives as enforcement officials and not just as observers.

Vice Premier Shimon Peres' office will hold diplomatic talks with the EU, while the Ministry of Defense will oversee the security arrangements. Once the crossing's operation plan is approved in principle, negotiations will be held with the Palestinian Authority directly.

Israeli requirements According to the plan, only passengers registered on the Palestinian population rolls would be allowed entry into the Gaza Strip. Only Palestinians and foreigners with special status - VIPs, business people, aid workers - will be allowed to pass through Rafah in the short term.

Exceptions would be made only in extreme circumstances. Other nationals would enter the Strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing just south of Israel's border with Gaza.

Israel wants to be able to monitor Rafah traffic via closed-circuit television, a demand the Palestinians reject.

"The third party is there for a reason, to monitor that we carry out our obligations," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. "The Israelis have left ... There should be no camera linkage to Israel."

Israel views these requirements as an imperative condition for the operation of the Rafah crossing, in order to prevent the entry of hostile operatives into the Strip. As part of Israel's security demands, it will have long-distance access to closed circuit cameras installed at the crossing and the Palestinian border control information system.

Security checks and customs would be held according to Israeli requirements as well.

"The World Bank insists the border with Mexico be kept open as well. Who the *ell is the World Bank to be instructing nations on internal policy."

It's all about investment on a global scale, pod'nah. National sovereignty and security; things like the rule of law; to be bent or completely discarded should they hamper the march of globalization.

Mapping the Global Future: Report of the National Intelligence Council’s 2020 Project

Remember, you read it at the U.S. Government Printing Office first!

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Who the *ell is the World Bank to be instructing nations on internal policy.

This is exactly what it does and is what it was set up to do.

It's a front organization where a few of the larger rich nations set up a pool of money.

When the smaller nations or the ones in need go there to get a loan the only way to get a loan is to have one of the original rich ones guarantee the loan.

It has nothing to do with the borrower's credit rating whether good or bad.

This allows the original members to put financial pressure on those that borrow, so they can influence the internal policy of those nations.

The U.S has used it many times to affect the political decisions of Israel.

It works like the "Mafia" did when it loaned private businesses money in the past.

The next day after the loan a guy would show up as an adviser or a new manager and start setting company policy and the owner would be sent to his office or told to take some time off.

It provides some " political cover" for the country "putting the arm" on the victim to remain in the background in case some of the citizens of both countries might object to the tactics.

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