RAMALLAH, West Bank — While the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its international donors move forward with plans to build industrial parks in the West Bank, critics say the projects undermine real economic development and dangerously cement Israel’s control over Palestinian lives.
The idea of establishing industrial zones in the occupied Palestinian territories took off shortly after the creation of the PA itself in the early 1990s. Today, there are three Palestinian industrial zones under construction in the occupied West Bank near Bethlehem, Jericho and Jenin.