An internationally backed deal to hand over Israeli greenhouses in Gaza to the Palestinians has gone ahead.

Around one quarter of the region’s greenhouses had already been dismantled and moved inside Israel, but the deal, signed on August 12, will see the remaining facilities sold to a private international fund and then handed over to the Palesitinian Authority.

The deal, reached just days before the Israeli pullout evacuating 21 settlements in the Gaza strip begins, is aimed at preserving the settlements' primary agricultural asset for Palestinian use.

The move could provide a much needed economic boost to the Palestinian Authority after the pullout. The greenhouses use sophisticated techniques that were developed especially for the area's sandy soil and desert-like conditions.

The $14 million deal, raised by a consortium of wealthy Americans, covers the remaining 850 acres of greenhouses which are owned by about 450 farmers. The purchase is being made by a private economic co-operation foundation, which raised private funds to buy the greenhouses, including a personal donation of US$500,000 from former World Bank president James D Wolfensohn.

Israeli growers will be getting an average of $16,000 per greenhouse-acre. Half of this amount will be paid when they leave and the other half after the greenhouses have been inspected.

The sale through a private foundation was a solution in view of the fact that the Palestinians rejected a plan that called for the US foreign aid agency USAID to buy the greenhouses.

Many Palestinians are familiar with the growing methods used in greenhouses from years spent working in them, although the Israeli settlers turned to Thai workers after the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising nearly five years ago.

Israeli officials said they believe that Palestinian growers, who already export about $15 million in crops such as strawberries and flowers from their own greenhouses in Gaza, will be able to expand their output using the facilities they are taking over from the settlers.

Agrexco, which already markets Palestinian produce in Europe under the Coral brand, has agreed to take on products from the new greenhouses and market them in Europe.

Topics