* Hopes to draw up to $4 billion in private investment
* Likens peace process to “diplomatic quicksand”
* No specifics on where investment will come from
By Arshad Mohammed
DEAD SEA, Jordan, May 26 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry sketched out a plan on Sunday to spur Palestinian
growth with up to $4 billion in private investment, but did not
say where the money would come from.
Kerry drew a picture of prosperity in the West Bank that
could spread to Israel and Jordan, while acknowledging it would
not fully materialize without movement toward peace between
Israel and the Palestinians.
Despite deep skepticism in the region, Kerry is trying to
revive negotiations after a gap of more than two years and has
said both sides must decide soon whether they are ready to make
compromises for peace.
While stressing his vision of an economic renaissance was
not a substitute for negotiations, the U.S. diplomat appeared to
hold out the prospect of rising growth, wages and employment as
a way to build trust and provide an incentive to make peace.
“Is this a fantasy? I don’t think so, because there are
already great examples of investment and entrepreneurship that
are working in the West Bank,” he said at a World Economic Forum
on the Middle East and North Africa session with Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres.
But Kerry did not identify specific companies with plans to
set up shop in the West Bank or how he hoped to remove obstacles
to Palestinian commerce.
“DIPLOMATIC QUICKSAND”
Kerry said a group working under former British Prime
Minister Tony Blair is seeking to identify opportunities in
tourism, construction, energy, agriculture and high-tech
industries in the Palestinian territories, Kerry said.
Their preliminary studies suggest that Palestinian gross
national product could rise by as much as 50 percent over three
years, with unemployment falling by nearly two thirds to eight
percent and wages rising up to 40 percent.
On April 9, Kerry had said he would unveil the initiative in
mid-April, saying he, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and Abbas had agreed to undertake “new efforts, very specific
efforts” to promote economic development and to remove
“bottlenecks and barriers” to commerce in the West Bank.
The U.S. secretary of state did not provide details on
easing such obstacles. Among the main impediments are Israeli
restrictions on the movement and access of Palestinians as they
seek to travel among their communities on the West Bank,
according to a September 2012 United Nations report.
Among the main issues to be solved to end the conflict are
borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees, the future of Jewish
settlements on the West Bank and the status of Jerusalem.
Kerry acknowledged the deep doubts among Palestinians and
Israelis that peace is possible.
“I have heard all the arguments against working for Middle
East peace. It is famously reputed to be diplomatic quicksand,”
he said. “There is huge cynicism about this journey … but
cynicism has never built anything, certainly not a state.”
At one point, he directly challenged the Palestinian and
Israeli leaders, saying he hoped Netanyahu and Abbas “don’t
allow this conflict to outlast their administrations.
“Negotiations can’t succeed if you don’t negotiate.”
He began his speech on a lighter note.
“I have an agreement right here if you want to sign it,”
Kerry joked with Abbas and Peres, who were both in the audience.
“We’ll get there. We’ll get there.”
(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Reporting
by Arshad Mohammed; editing by Mike Collett-White)
