Israel mulls overland links between Gaza, West Bank

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Israel has agreed to consider a number of proposals for creating a overland connection between Gaza and the West Bank following the disengagement, as well as measures that will make it much easier for people and goods to enter Israel from the territories.

James Wolfensohn, the Quartet's envoy on the disengagement, told Haaretz on Wednesday that over the past two weeks, there has been significant progress in Israeli-Palestinian talks on economic and civil aspects of the disengagement, which had previously been stuck due to a dispute over the agenda. Senior Israeli officials confirmed his statement. Initially, Israel had wanted the talks to focus solely on "handing over the keys to Gaza," but it has now agreed to expand the focus to include Palestinian movement within the West Bank, between the West Bank and Israel and between Gaza and the West Bank.

Wolfensohn held talks this week with Israeli officials about a temporary solution for linking Gaza and the West Bank until a permanent link can be built. He proposed Palestinian truck convoys under Israeli supervision, and offered to purchase 30 trucks with international financing for this purpose. According to a diplomatic source, Israel did not reject this suggestion, but has not yet studied it thoroughly.

A senior Israeli source said: "Everything will depend on security. If they give us a few months of quiet, we can agree to allow trucks to pass. But an event like the suicide bomber at Erez Checkpoint on Monday distances this."

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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/591246.html