Hamdallah calls for enabling PA to invest in Area C

Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah yesterday called for donors and international organisations to enable the authority to move and invest “freely” in Area C of the occupied West Bank, Safa news agency reported.

According to the Oslo Accords, the occupied West Bank is divided into three areas A, B and C. Area A forms 18 per cent of the West Bank and it is under full security and administrative control of the PA, Area B forms 21 per cent of the West Bank and it is under the administrative control of the PA and security control of Israel, while Area C, which forms 61 per cent of the West Bank, is under full Israeli security and administrative control.

Israel does not allow Palestinians to build on their land in Area C and regularly demolishes structures in the area. The village of Khan Al-Ahmar, located in Area C, is threatened with demolition with Israel calling on residents to demolish their own homes or risk paying for the occupation’s bulldozers to do the job.

Hamdallah stressed that ending the Israeli occupation helps develop the Palestinian economy, which is based on reinforcing the rule of law, free movement and work in Area C and enabling the PA to invest in the area.

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