Arguments between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) mounted on Monday over building a new city north of the West Bank city of Ramallah, which involved several private Israeli housing companies.
Several months ago, the Palestinian Developing Company of Beiti, the major Palestinian company responsible for building the city, and around 12 Israeli construction companies signed the contracts to build the first-ever new Palestinian city called Rawabi. However, the contracts valued billions of Israeli shekels have been opposed by both Israelis and Palestinians.
Israeli Radio reported Monday that around 48 Israeli legislators had signed on a petition calling for boycotting the 12 Israeli companies.
Bashar al-Masri, executive director of the Palestinian Developing Company of Beiti, said the Israeli petition "is another Israeli obstacle to build the city."
"This petition is not only obstructing the Palestinians to build their city, but also harming the Israeli economy," Masri told Xinhua.
The Palestinian company requires the 12 Israeli companies not to get any kind of construction products that are produced at Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Masri added.
The project will provide new apartments for 40,000 Palestinians, which is expected to be finished by end of the next year and fully inhabited in five years. The city will also include schools, hospitals and other public service facilities.
Except the Israeli opposition, the internal Palestinian opposition has mounted within the last a few days. "I believe that there is no sense for the internal Palestinian opposition to the project because the whole city will be built by Palestinian contractors only and without any Israeli contractors," Masri said, adding "the contracts with the Israeli companies is only based on getting construction supplies."
The Palestinian economic cycle expressed hope that the project would contribute to activating the Palestinian industries such as Aluminum producing. Other construction materials, such as cements and iron will be imported from abroad because there are no factories in the West Bank.
Adel Odeh, chairman of the Palestinian Contractors Association, told Xinhua that his union doesn't impose restrictions on importing any of the constructions products from Israel or from abroad that are not available in the Palestinian markets.
"Our union checked the new project of Rawabi city, and we found out that it will be built up by Palestinian hands and by Palestinian contractors, the priority is for the Palestinian contractors and agents," Odeh said.
In addition, the Israeli authorities still refuse to give the Palestinian company a license to open a new road that links the city with the town of Beit Zeit, near Ramallah.
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