Israel, Palestinians sign 3G mobile network agreement

Israeli officials said a memorandum of understanding to lay a much-awaited third generation (3G) cellular network in the West Bank was signed Thursday.

Coordinator of Government's Activities in the Territories, Major-General Yoav Mordechai, said the agreement was signed between his office and the Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs, Hussein al-Sheikh.

"The decision was made after a review by security authorities and following the completion of a professional administrative work by the Israeli Ministry of Communications," he said.

The agreement will not extend frequencies to the Gaza Strip nor will it allow the Palestinians access to a G4 network, officials said.

It was unclear when the new deal will be implemented.

Palestinians say they are the only nation in the world without 3G.

Palestinian Wataniya and Jawwal mobile companies operate a 2G network and struggle to meet the surging demand for wider bandwidth amidst the growing use of social networks.

In the past, Israel declined to allocate cellular frequencies to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), saying there were not enough frequencies for 3G network. Instead, it suggested the PNA should lease access from Israeli companies, an offer rejected by the Palestinians.

Under the interim peace accords, Israel has the control over the allocation of radio frequencies to the West Bank and Gaza, territories it occupied in the 1967 Mideast War.

The preliminary cellular agreement was signed as Israel and the Palestinians were grappling with a two-month wave of violence, which so far claimed the lives of at least 80 Palestinians and 14 Israelis. Endit