Gaza greenhouses herald economic harvest
By Greg Myre The New York Times
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2005
GADID, Gaza Strip Amid the rubble of the former Jewish settlements, Palestinians have sown the first seeds of a modest economic revival.
Less than three months after the Israelis departed, Palestinians have repaired scores of greenhouses left by the settlers, planted an autumn crop and are preparing to harvest an estimated $20 million worth of strawberries, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, and an array of herbs and spices. The produce is intended mostly for export to Europe, but some will also be headed to Israel, Arab countries and the United States.
After overcoming numerous obstacles, the Palestinians said their main worry now is the Karni border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel, a source of blockage in the past and a focus of negotiations involving the Israelis, the Palestinians, the World Bank and even the U.S. secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice.
Still, the harvest, which begins in about 10 days, will be the first tangible measure of development in Gaza, which has been in an economic free fall for most of the past five years.
"I think we have made this a success in a very short period," said Bassil Jabir, head of Palestine Economic Development Company, a government body that works with the private sector and is overseeing the rehabilitation of the greenhouses.
<b."We are employing thousands of people in these greenhouses," Jabir said during an interview in the former settlement of Gadid, in the southwest corner of Gaza, as he visited the flourishing greenhouses. "We kept the growing cycle intact. We have pumped a lot of money into the Gaza economy."
The Israeli military demolished the settler homes before leaving in September, and piles of smashed concrete and twisted rebar have yet to be removed. And some greenhouses were looted by Palestinians in the chaotic days after the withdrawal. But now the adjacent greenhouses are hives of activity. The dominant sounds are power saws and hammers at work. A stream of laborers pluck supplies from coils of hoses and stacks of wood.
Rice recently brokered an agreement on the Gaza crossings that says Palestinian agricultural exports are to pass through Karni "on an urgent basis." But the Palestinians say they are still worried about possible delays at the crossing on Gaza's eastern border.
During the violence of the past five years, Israel has insisted on stringent checks for weapons, and Palestinian militants have staged deadly attacks at Karni. But the lengthy Israeli searches have caused frequent delays, at times spoiling produce before it reached its destination.
Once the produce clears Karni, it will be handed over to the same Israeli export companies that the Gaza settlers used.
"We are new to this business, and I don't want to disrupt the system that has been in place for 30 years," said Jabir. "I also believe that a divorce of the Israeli and Palestinian economies wouldn't be good for either side."
Israel says it, too, has an incentive in seeing Gaza's economy prosper.
"We understand that a successful Gaza economy is a crucial ingredient in the overall success of what is now Palestinian Gaza," said Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry. "And the success of Gaza is a crucial factor in getting the peace process back on track."
For Palestinians, the greenhouses are the good news, and much of the economic picture is not so rosy. The Palestinians have several major development projects planned in Gaza, but none have gained traction.
The remains of the 1,500 settler homes must be removed before the Palestinians can start building badly needed housing and other facilities in the former settlements, which account for roughly 20 percent of Gaza's land.
Israel is supposed to pay for the removal of the rubble, some of which could be used for roads and construction, while the remainder is expected to be dumped in Egypt's Sinai desert.
A Gaza seaport is planned, but that is expected to take a minimum of two years, and will still require negotiations with Israel to operate it. The Palestinians want to renovate the Gaza airport, which Israel closed five years ago, but Israel has not yet authorized its repair and reopening.
When the Jewish settlers came to Gaza decades ago, they developed innovative techniques for cultivating a wide range of high-quality fruits and vegetables in the barren sand dunes, where fresh water is scarce.
When the Israeli farmers left, they took their most valuable equipment with them, like heaters and computer systems that monitored irrigation. In addition, some greenhouses were damaged or destroyed.
James Wolfensohn, the envoy for countries involved in Mideast peacemaking, cobbled together a group of wealthy Jewish Americans who pledged $14 million in compensation for the Israeli farmers provided they left the greenhouses intact. The deal was reached just days before the settlers were evacuated, and it is not clear what impact the arrangement had.
Still, Palestinian officials praise Wolfensohn's overall efforts to preserve the greenhouses and revitalize Gaza's enfeebled economy.
The Israelis said they had about 400 hectares, or 1,000 acres, of greenhouses in Gaza. But by the time Palestinian officials surveyed the land, they found only a hundred or so hectares in working condition.
"We had to rehabilitate the greenhouses day and night to catch the fall planting season," said Muhammad Bader, who is running the greenhouse project for the Palestine Economic Development Company. Today, crops are growing on close to 240 hectares, and the Palestinians hope to plant on an additonal 80 hectares next month.
Last year, Palestinian agricultural exports from the West Bank and Gaza totaled about $80 million, according to Bader. The autumn harvest from the Gaza greenhouses could add roughly $20 million to that total, he said.
When the Israelis ran the greenhouses, Palestinian workers carried out much of the manual labor, and about 3,000 have kept their jobs. An additional 1,000 workers have been added, and about 2,000 private guards are protecting the greenhouses. A typical worker makes $13 a day.
"I think we surprised even ourselves by how quickly we reached this stage," said Bader. "But we have a lot of qualified people with a lot of experience in these greenhouses."
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