International investors hope for visible returns in Gaza

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The international community will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the Gaza Strip in the coming months to create large numbers of jobs and jump-start an economic recovery of the impoverished coastal area, a World Bank official said this week.

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While some money will go to the West Bank, the vast majority is expected to be spent in Gaza by the end of the year on projects such as renovating a main north-south highway, improving water resources and new housing.

The Group of Eight industrialized nations has also pledged up to $9 billion in aid, much of it in the form of private investments, to the Palestinians over the next three years.

The Palestinians, who have made great progress in cleaning up waste and corruption in their spending, must reform their legal system, he said. The Israelis, meanwhile, must ease travel restrictions in the Palestinian areas.

Haaretz