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International Middle East envoy Tony Blair (Reuters) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 21:52 19/11/2007 Blair set to reveal projects for boosting Palestinian employment By Haaretz Service Tags: Palestinians, employment  International Middle East envoy Tony Blair was set to unveil on Monday a number of economic projects aimed at spurring employment opportunities for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Blair said Sunday that the projects would create tens of thousands of jobs for Palestinians and give a sense of progress on the ground, a week before the U.S.-sponsored regional summit set to be held in Annapolis, Maryland. This is Blair's first major initiative since assuming his position in June. Blair will announce the projects, alongside Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad, at a press conference on Monday afternoon. Advertisement The plans include creation of a Turkish-sponsored industrial park in the southern West Bank, a sewage project in northern Gaza and road construction in the West Bank. Last week, President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and met in Turkey to discuss the establishment of the Turkish-sponsored industrial park. The three sides also signed a framework agreement for the park. The project are "designed to give some sense things could change on the ground," Blair said in a joint news conference in Ramallah with Fayyad and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner over the weekend. It is still not clear how the projects intended for Gaza will be carried out without Hamas' input. Israeli approval of an aid project in Gaza would be particularly significant. Israel virtually sealed Gaza's borders in June, following the violent takeover of Hamas, and since then has only permitted food and medicine to enter. In September, Israel designated Gaza hostileterritory, setting the stage for further sanctions. Israeli approval of an aid project in Gaza would be particularly significant. Israel virtually sealed Gaza's borders in June, following the violent takeover of Hamas, and since then has only permitted food and medicine to enter. In September, Israel designated Gaza hostile territory, setting the stage for further sanctions. The sewage project in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya is seen as urgent. Last year, one of the sewage basins near Beit Lahiya collapsed, flooding a village with waste and killing five people. The closure of Gaza, which followed more than a year of partial economic sanctions against the Hamas-led government there, has deepened despair and driven up prices. Palestinian government officials say about 75 percent of Gazans are now poor, up 10 percent from the summer. Civil Administration spokesman Shlomo Dror said that Israel views the current situation in Gaza as a humanitarian problem. Related articles: Blair: PA, Israel to unveil plans to spur Palestinian employment Court demands State explain how it will prevent Gaza crisis Doing good is no sweat Bookmark to del.icio.us MTV generation MTV launches new channel in effort to draw Arab viewers. Not settling for less PA to U.S.: We demand a complete settlement freeze.   1.   Palestinians in Lebanon 12:29  |  Taha Mokhtar 19/11/07   2.   Learn from the Past 15:37  |  Mike 19/11/07   3.   Poor Tony 17:10  |  Mark Lincoln 19/11/07

Today Online Gazan dies of cancer after refused entry into Israel Responses: 296 Poll: Most Americans still strong supporters of Israel Responses: 194 Shmuel Rosner: Anti-Israel attitudes on U.S. campuses Responses: 101 Yossi Beilin: Better to skip Annapolis meet than go there like this Responses: 78 Israel okays release of 441 Palestinians before summit Responses: 62 Rosner's Domain The case against war with Iran (WTR) New Guest: On anti-Israel attitudes on contemporary campuses Poll: Should Israel "get used" to the Iranian bomb? The Annapolis dictionary: P is for photo-op More Headlines 21:41 IDF: Gaza fuel cuts are not a humanitarian violation 21:45 Comptroller: PM helped Likud activist get millions in gov't aid 19:11 Comptroller: IDF reservists didn't train properly for 5 years 20:43 Government cites 'progress' as Olmert and Abbas meeting ends 19:14 Chestnut from Anne Frank tree goes on sale on eBay 21:47 Bashar Assad meets Syrian politicians to discuss regional developments 21:08 Balad to hold vote on whether to accept Israel as a Jewish state 19:35 UNRWA: New Israeli restrictions curtailing aid to Palestinians 13:45 PM, Mubarak to meet in Sharm al-Sheikh Tuesday for surprise talks 19:27 IDF chief opposes inclusion of Gazans in prisoner release Previous Editions Select Day 18 nov 16 nov 15 nov 14 nov 13 nov 12 nov 11 nov 09 nov 08 nov 07 nov 06 nov 05 nov

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