Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is preparing a full infrastructure separation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, within a period of three to five years, reported Haaretz newspaper.
The director-general of the prime minister's office, Yossi Cucik, approved a plan currently being put together, under which the infrastructure separation is detailed, including electricity, water, and communications.
Economic separation in manufacturing and workforce is currently being carried out, and, according to Barak, no change in the state of this separation is expected, said the daily.
Barak's version of a full separation, however, would be implemented out in stages.
Cucik said that Barak's plan is based on the working assumption that economic relations with the PA will be those of two separate countries.
Economic development and cooperation between the two will derive from developments both in the field and on the diplomatic plane, said Cucik.
He added that every Israeli action will be "in order, and will not create insufferable conditions in the areas of the Palestinian Authority. The territories will not be without electricity or medical supplies, and there will not be starvation."
He added that "We are interested in such a separation as part of an agreement, but this current separation has been forced on us."
The workforce of Palestinians employed in Israel is expected to shrink once a full infrastructure separation is implemented.
According Cucik, about 20,000 Palestinians work in Israel.
"If the PA unilaterally declares itself a state, these workers would stop arriving in Israel - Albawaba.com
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