Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said his government was working to stop discrimination and erase artificial demarcation lines in the West Bank.
“We consider the entire West Bank as one and indivisible,” Shtayyeh said in an interview with Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
He stressed that the Palestinian government did not distinguish between areas classified as A, B and C, and that it was working on development projects in all regions equally.
The West Bank is divided into these three areas, according to the Oslo Accords.
According to the classification that has been in effect for 26 years, Area A includes the main Palestinian residential areas, falls under Palestinian administration and security and covers 18 percent of the West Bank.
Area B falls under Palestinian administration and Israeli security control and constitutes 21 percent of the West Bank.
As for Area C, it falls under Israeli security and administrative control, and covers 61 percent of the West Bank, where large settlements were established.
Last September, the Palestinian Authority announced the cancellation of the classifications, and said that it intended to grant construction permits in the entire West Bank, even in areas under the security and administrative control of the Israeli authorities.
Shtayyeh affirmed that there was nothing in the agreements that prevented the implementation of development projects in Area C.
He emphasized that since taking office, he adopted a clear strategy to decrease dependence on the Israeli occupation and to enhance the productive capacity of the Palestinian economy, especially in agriculture and industry.
He added that an agreement was reached with Iraq to buy fuel at a low price, especially since the fuel represents the largest government expense, with the government purchasing daily three million liters from Israel at a price of 650 million shekels per month.
