Disengagement Begins: Erez To Be Closed

[Gimel]

Trade Minister Ehud Olmert made one of the first practical disengagement decisions yesterday when he ordered the closing of the Erez Industrial Zone.

Erez, in northern Gaza, was founded 34 years ago to provide employment for workers from both Gaza and the Negev. Today there are 170 factories and plants, including 60 under Gazan Arab ownership, in which 4,500 Arabs and 570 Israelis are employed. This year alone, the sorry security situation has caused the area to be closed for some 70 working days.

Olmert yesterday ordered the relocation of the 110 Jewish-owned factories to other areas throughout southern Israel. "Now that the government has decided in principle on the disengagement plan," Olmert said, "I have decided to relocate the factories. In any event, it is perfectly clear that there is no prospect of Israeli presence in Gaza, and some businesses there are failing anyway..." The owners and workers in the failing businesses are happy with the decision, but others are not - including those who live in the PA, where thousands may lose their jobs. For this reason, Yossi Beilin of the extreme left-wing Yachad party says he objects to Olmert's initiative to close Erez.

More