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Roundup: After years of talks, Israel allows Palestinians to use 3G mobile services

Xinhua, November 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

After years of talks, Israel has finally allowed on Thursday the Palestinians to have access to 3G mobile internet services in their territories.

In a statement, Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh said he has signed a memorandum of understanding with Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, Israel's coordinator of government activities in the territories.

Al-Sheikh said, with the agreement, the Palestinian companies can start working with the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications on implementing the pact.

The agreement comes after announcements by the Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu about taking measures to build "trust" with Palestinians after his meeting with the U.S. President Barack Obama.

Israel controls Palestinian borders and radio frequencies. It denied the Palestinians access to 3G and 4G services, and allowed no import of devices and equipment the service needs, citing security concerns.

Palestinian mobile companies provide some data service packets, known as 2G, an old technology that has been put into used since 1990 and is very expensive for customers, especially when they use internet through their cell phones.

Israeli media quoted some officials as saying that the service would be available to the Palestinians in the coming three to six months.

Israel's public radio said that the decision was made after long security assessments by the relevant Israeli security parties and the Palestinian ministry of telecommunications.

The Palestinian minister of telecommunication, Allam Mousa, told Xinhua that the decision was a result of years of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israeli side amidst intense Palestinian demands.

Mousa believed that the agreement would help boost development of the telecommunications and IT sectors as well as commercial, educational and commercial areas.

Smart phones are very popular in Palestine, yet Palestinians were unable to use the full capacity of their gadgets because of Israel's restrictions. The Palestinian youth are known to be heavy users of internet and computers. 75 percent of the country's internet users use social media websites.

Observers note that Israeli telecommunication companies are interested in keeping the Palestinian market dependent on Israeli firms.

Official Palestinian statistics estimate Israeli companies profit at 150 million U.S. dollars, which accounts for 20 percent of the Palestinian market share without paying any taxes to the PNA.

Palestinian officials say that Palestinians, without 3G service, lose 100 million dollars annually. Entrepreneurs and businessmen say that they are mostly affected by this problem as they have many ideas that can not be implemented. Endit