RAMALLAH, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian minister said Wednesday that Paris Economic Treaty signed between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1994 "was a bootlicker" and has achieved nothing.
Abber Oudeh, Minister of Economy in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) consensus government said in an emailed press statement that she informed her Israeli counterpart that the deal "is bootlicker and superfluous."
"The meeting held in Paris last week aimed at making the Palestinian stance clear to both France and Israel that Paris agreement prevents any real economic development for the Palestinians," said Oudeh.
She also said that during the meeting, she made it clear that Israel didn't commit itself to the agreement and didn't implement its provisions, adding "this has consequently led to failing to build up a powerful Palestinian economy that meets the Palestinians needs."
Oudeh accused Israel of violating the provisions of the agreement, mainly on the free movement of goods and individuals, and of preventing Palestinian customs from being at the crossings provided in the Agreement.
She referred to the Israeli customs deducting 3 percent of Palestinian revenues in exchange for the collection service, which caused the Palestinian economy more losses.
She added that the commodity lists included in the deal are no longer commensurate with the requirements of the Palestinian economy, and therefore she demanded during the meeting with her Israeli counterpart to cancel them and guarantee the freedom and flow of goods and products.
She pointed out that the Israeli authorities destroyed many factories and economic establishments, the most recent of which was the destruction of the air conditioning plant in northern West Bank, which is a successful investment as the most important factories in the Middle East.
The Palestinian and Israeli sides held two meetings in the West Bank city of Ramallah during the past two days, one under the auspices of UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nikolai Mladenov to discuss the situation and developments in the Palestinian territories, including political and economic issues.
The two sides also held bilateral talks in Ramallah in October, focusing on financial issues related to the PNA's financial entitlements to Israel and the need for an electronic accountability mechanism between the two sides, as well as financial arrangements related to public trade.
Bilateral coordination has continued in several areas between the PNA and Israel despite the stalled peace talks between them since the end of March 2014 after nine months of U.S.-sponsored talks without any progress.
