PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: Hanan Taha Rayyan: htaha@paltrade.

org, +970-599-417919

PALESTINIAN DEVELOPMENT HINDERED BY RESTRICTIONS ON ENTRY FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS

New PALTRADE report identifies visa issues as the number one obstacle to foreign investment in the West
Bank and Gaza.

Ramallah, March 9 2010 -- A new report by PALTRADE -- The Palestine Trade Center -- points to Israeli refusal to
issue entry visas and permits to international investors as the number one obstacle to Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) in the West Bank and Gaza.

A large proportion of potential investors in the Palestinian economy are citizens from countries with diplomatic
relations with Israel. Yet many applicants, including EU and US citizens, are consistently refused visas to the
Palestinian Territory. Others are issued restricted permits valid only for the Palestinian Territory or only for Israel,
significantly limiting their ability to effectively operate.

The Government of Israel’s (GOI) de facto entry policy violates the Oslo II agreement and remains in place despite
clarifications by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the office of the Coordinator for Government Activities in
the Territory (COGAT) to the contrary.

Attempts to rectify the situation by the Palestinian Ministry of Civilian affairs (MoCA) are hampered by the absence
of any public information regarding visa-permit or renewal and denial criteria, nor the process of appeal. The Joint
Investment Committee (JIC), established as an Israeli-Palestinian body specifically to deal with all issues relating to
promotion of investment in the West Bank and Gaza and on facilitating access to potential investors, has met only
twice since late 2000.

The authors of the report point to the fact that sustainable Palestinian economic growth is dependent on FDI
and that continued denial of predictable access to investors will severely limit the potential positive
economic impact of the lifting of other movement and access restrictions. As such, it also contributes to
deterring donor countries from fulfilling grant pledges.

They urge the GOI and the MoCA to work together to (a) activate the relevant Oslo agreement articles, including
regular convening of the JIC; and (b) to publish a clear and consistent GOI policy for the issuing of permits, including
articulation of an appeal process. In addition, they recommend that the Palestinian Authority amend its investment
law to regulate the issue and that other countries review their policy for the issuing of travel warnings to the
Palestinian Territory, based on recent improvement in the security situation.

The PALTRADE report was funded by the Government of Norway and supervised by the World Bank.

The full report can be downloaded here.

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