On the eve of the opening of Rafah's border crossing , Palestinian Authority minister of civil affairs, speaks to Al-Ahram Weekly about Israel's economic occupation of the West Bank and Gaza What are the immediate and long-term political and economic implications of the recent "Agreement on Movement and Access" between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel? If the agreement is implemented by the Israeli side this will give the Palestinian economy the chance to revamp and to develop, because the economic situation now is related to a decision by an Israeli soldier on a checkpoint. Historically, the Israelis have not implemented agreements; instead they implement what works for them. Now, because of the international pressure and the presence of the World Bank and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, they might implement the agreement, but I can't give a judgement right now. The future of the Gaza Strip is connected to the crossings; whether the safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza, or Karni commercial crossing, or the Rafah passenger crossing, or the seaport and airport. As long as we have normal movement, there will be hope, and connection to the outside world. Again, this is also connected to Israel's behaviour, and the political will of Rice to implement the agreement she has reached. This agreement has an understanding, a timetable, and a third party -- the European Union -- to implement and monitor it. All the necessary components exist in this agreement. As negotiators, we made sure that the agreement could not be misinterpreted. Again, as usual, it is entirely up to the Israelis to implement the agreement. This is neither my responsibility nor the PA's; it is the third party's responsibility. What do you think of Rice's role in brokering the agreement, and how can the PA encourage her continued involvement in the peace process? This is the first time the Americans intervened seriously, and with an executive role in the peace process, although the role was very limited. We are talking about crossings; we are not talking about political horizons. However, we hope that this will be a base for further intervention. They have exerted positive efforts -- Rice and the Quartet's special envoy, James Wolfensohn -- to achieve this agreement. The test is how this agreement is implemented, and this is a test for Rice, not for us. We will implement all the requested and necessary security measures from our side, at Rafah and everywhere. Is the US involvement the most important component to keep the peace process moving forward? I think all these agreements, even though they are small ones, will form a base to restart the peace process. If the US administration wants, they can use it to create a new atmosphere after the Palestinian elections. Is there an understanding in the agreement that crossings will not close for "general security" threats but only for specific threats directed at a crossing? Israel is not permitted to close the crossings according to this agreement. However, if they want to shut them down they can. Will we declare war against them as a result? Israel shuts down borders in their own way, by their own thinking. It is not because of the security situation, because sometimes they close Karni, the commercial crossing, for example, and do not allow our goods to come out of Gaza, but still allow their goods to come into Gaza. This means it is an economic decision, not a security decision. I will give you another example. It is written in the Gaza-Jericho Agreement that the Rafah passage will close only two days per year -- one for our holiday and one for their holiday -- but usually they close the terminal. How are the procedural details of the crossing being decided, and will the results of the negotiations be made public? We have been discussing these details for 20 weeks with Wolfensohn; there is not a single detail that we have not discussed. This is not a political agreement; this is a procedural agreement. We will open the Rafah crossing on 25 November. We will hold a ceremony, and it will work. We are not controlling Karni; the Israelis are the ones who do. Regarding the safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza, we were ready to start work on it a year ago. It is not our responsibility; it is the third party's, and Israel. It is written in the agreement that by the end of the year the safe passage should be operating. The seaport is the same; it does not need any interpretation. According to the agreement we are permitted to begin work on the seaport tomorrow morning. The question is, are they -- the Israelis -- willing to allow us to import the necessary equipment from the West Bank, or not? Over two years ago, all of the details related to the seaport were clear. We have a common understanding regarding the seaport. What is the status of negotiations over the airport? The Israelis simply refused, and even Rice was unable to convince them to allow us to begin construction. There is no agreement on the airport. Will the ceasefire agreed upon by the Palestinian factions expire at the end of the year, and will there be another round of negotiations in Cairo? No, there is no need. All the factions are still committed to the ceasefire until now, even while the Israelis are killing in the West Bank and assassinating members of Hamas. The ceasefire is still in place according to an announcement made by all of the factions. What is your opinion of the role the Egyptian delegation has played in the Palestinian territories thus far, negotiating between the factions and helping to train your security forces? The Egyptians have played a distinguished and positive role, especially in upholding the ceasefire, and I think without their presence here, things would be worse. They still are playing a positive role in training PA security and police. Is there an agreement in place between the PA and Egypt for the Rafah border and crossing, and what is the policy for granting Egyptian citizens permission to enter the Palestinian territories? It will be very easy for Egyptians to come here after the border is open. As for Palestinians who wish to go to Egypt, it is not under our control, it is up to the Egyptians. We hope that the mechanism for travel will change to facilitate the movement of Palestinians across the Rafah border. Previously, the Egyptians dealt with us as an occupied territory, and now almost 90 per cent of the Gaza Strip is free of occupation. Before, it took the Palestinians many hours to cross. Now we hope this will change. Discussions took place between the Palestinian foreign minister, Nasser Al-Qidwa, and his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Abul- Gheit, to facilitate the movement of passengers. How will the agreement change economic and political relations between Egyptians and Palestinians? Opening the border will give us the chance to export products to Egypt without Israeli intervention, and to import products from Egypt with greater ease, which will bring new opportunities and chances. The West Bank and Gaza Strip import $2.5 billion worth of products from Israel per year -- $1 billion for Gaza alone. With this same $1 billion, we could buy $3 billion worth of products from Egypt. Therefore, we will witness growth in imports and exports between the Egyptians and Palestinians, in addition to other major projects under consideration, especially regarding electricity and gas supply. Both parties are concerned with this. When Omar Suleiman, Egypt's general intelligence chief, came here he convened with businessmen from both sides and encouraged them to foster joint business ventures and increase trade relations. Is there an agreement in place between Palestinians and Egyptians to export gas to Egypt from the two resource stations in the Gaza Strip? There are understandings. What is your opinion regarding a joint Palestinian-Israeli business lobby, and how effective could it be towards real policy- making on both sides, particularly in regard to Israeli closures? We have no problem dealing with the business community in Israel, because we have common interests; even our workers benefit from travelling to Israel. The problem is that the Israeli government always tries to set obstacles in front of both business communities when they are trying to meet. We have called upon all Israeli and Palestinian business people to work together. We have benefited from the Israelis -- they have experience, they have an international market, and they have skilled labour. During the negotiations, we told Israel we would like to maintain the Erez industrial zone, but the Israeli government refused. Karni also used to host Israeli business people, but the Israeli government insisted on removing them. We have the desire and the interest, and so do Israeli business people, but it is up to the Israeli government to decide. Israeli businesses resent their government putting obstacles in the way of building relations with the Palestinian business community. What is the PA's plan to increase internal security, and do you have the necessary resources to put this plan into action? There is undoubtedly a lack of security in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, whether because of the occupation, or not. We must exert more effort to maintain security here, related to public order for individuals and all Palestinians, especially here in Gaza. Has Israel permitted you to bring in an adequate supply of weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and other equipment for your security forces? This is one of the major reasons the Israelis want us to remain under occupation, and a way for them to implement their demands. What are the conditions that would prompt the PA to declare a Palestinian state? This should be left to negotiations, because we do not want to simply declare a state without any foundation, similar to what happened in Algeria. We need a state with land, borders and officials in place -- and any delay in negotiations is a loss for both sides, for the Israelis and us. Is there a phased plan of action in place for statehood-building in order to prepare the PA? I have no idea. What are Israel's political and economic motivations for the continued occupation of the Palestinian territories? Occupation -- the concept of one people occupying another -- is diseased, and Israelis thought over the years they would be able to control another population. We are a commercial market for the Israelis, and they have extorted us. Of all the occupations throughout history, there is nothing worse than the Israeli occupation. They have intervened in our marital affairs. They have intervened in our healthcare, our education, even in the air that we breathe. They control who travels and who does not. They control who receives healthcare and who does not. They even control our corpses. If someone dies abroad they prevent his burial in his homeland. The Israeli occupation controls the details of our lives. Simply, there is nothing worse than this. Even I have been arrested by the Israelis, several times. They occupy to abuse and to take advantage of us. The Israelis did not invest one dollar in Gaza. They handed it over to us in ruins. They used the land, took advantage of it. They arrested the people, treated us inhumanely and used our cheap labour without offering Palestinians any rights. They forced us to consume their rotten products. They have obligated us to buy their products, which are 10 times more expensive than other products we could buy. What is more brutal than such corruption, such extortion -- such an occupation? By Erica Silverman
