8/14/2019 (PT) Press Release ENG Mar09-10 [Obtaining Visas for Investors]

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floor. P.O.Box 5180, Gaza, PalestinTel. +970 2 2408383, Fax. +970 2 2408370 Tel. +970 8 2833539, Fax. +970 8 2833549E-mail: info@paltrade.orghttp:// www.paltrade.org

PRESS R ELEASE CONTACT : Hanan Taha Rayyan: htaha@paltrade.org , +970-599-417919

P ALESTINIAN D EVELOPMENT H INDERED BY R ESTRICTIONS ON E NTRY FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS

New PALTRADE report identifies visa issues as the number one obstacle to foreign investment in the West Bank and Gaza.

Ramallah, March 9 2010 -- A new report by PALTRADE -- The Palestine Trade Center -- points to Israeli refusal toissue entry visas and permits to international investors as the number one obstacle to Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) in the West Bank and Gaza.

A large proportion of potential investors in the Palestinian economy are citizens from countries with diplomatic

relations with Israel. Yet many applicants, including EU and US citizens, are consistently refused visas to thePalestinian Territory . Others are issued restricted permits valid only for the Palestinian Territory or only for Israel,significantly limiting their ability to effectively operate.

The Government of Israels (GOI) de facto entry policy violates the Oslo II agreement and remains in place despiteclarifications by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the office of the Coordinator for Government Activities inthe Territory (COGAT) to the contrary.

Attempts to rectify the situation by the Palestinian Ministry of Civilian affairs (MoCA) are hampered by the absenceof any public information regarding visa-permit or renewal and denial criteria, nor the process of appeal. The JointInvestment Committee (JIC), established as an Israeli-Palestinian body specifically to deal with all issues relating to

promotion of investment in the West Bank and Gaza and on facilitating access to potential investors, has met only twice since late 2000.

The authors of the report point to the fact that sustainable Palestinian economic growth is dependent on FDIand that continued denial of predictable access to investors will severely limit the potential positiveeconomic impact of the lifting of other movement and access restrictions . As such, it also contributes todeterring donor countries from fulfilling grant pledges.

They urge the GOI and the MoCA to work together to (a) activate the relevant Oslo agreement articles, including regular convening of the JIC; and (b) to publish a clear and consistent GOI policy for the issuing of permits, including articulation of an appeal process. In addition, they recommend that the Palestinian Authority amend its investmentlaw to regulate the issue and that other countries review their policy for the issuing of travel warnings to thePalestinian Territory, based on recent improvement in the security situation.

The PALTRADE report was funded by the Government of Norway and supervised by the World Bank.

The full report can be downloaded here .

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