Turkey, under orders of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is seeking to strengthen its influence in Judea and Samaria and has invested $10 million in a new industrial zone currently under construction in the Palestinian city of Jenin. The investment is a significant step for Turkey, which normally investments in Gaza, due to Ankara's warm relations with Hamas, and in east Jerusalem – due to Erdogan's political calculations.
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"There is a plan to build Turkish factories in the industrial area," Palestinian Authority Economy Minister Khaled al-Osaily told Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu.
Turkey is not the only country investing in the project. Germany is investing 24 million euros in the initial construction phase, which will focus on preparing the external infrastructure and be completed in mid-2021. The second phase, to focus on the internal infrastructure, will be partly funded with the $10 million from Ankara.
The investment will be channeled through the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), which received the green light from Erdogan to transfer the considerable sum to the PA for the construction project. The project itself was first conceived in 1999, but perpetual foot-dragging has thus far prevented it from getting off the ground.
"We thank the president of Turkey, the government of Turkey and the people of Turkey for their political stance with us and for their support for the Palestinian economy," al-Osaily said.
The industrial zone will consist, among other things, of food and textile factories and auto repair shops. According to the PA's assessment, the industrial zone will span an area of 272 acres and will be situated some three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the center of Jenin. It is expected to directly provide 5,000 new jobs and indirectly provide 15,000 jobs.
"The official Turkish position refers to Judea and Samaria, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip as one entity, and therefore they are working to encourage unity between Palestinian factions," Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, an expert on contemporary Turkish politics and foreign policy, told Israel Hayom.
"Taking into account that Erdogan provides humanitarian aid to Gaza," Yanarocak noted, "he wants to balance this by donating to various projects [in Judea and Samaria] via TOBB and TIKA (the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency). By doing so, he is maintaining Turkey's positive image in the eyes of Hamas and Fatah respectively."
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