August 3 -Wolfensen visits Gaza crossing

August 3 -Wolfensen visits Gaza crossing, originally uploaded by anonimoh2005.

International Mideast envoy James Wolfensohn, left, and Mohammed Dahlan, the Palestinian Cabinet minister in charge of coordinating the Gaza withdrawal with the Israelis, right, walk through the Palestinian side of the Gaza border crossing at Erez, Wednesday.

Photo: AP

James Wolfensohn, the envoy representing the Middle East peacemakers, told The Associated Press Wednesday that the time had come to make decisions on issues surrounding the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.



"In the next week, we'll need to reach finality," he said. Asked if all decisions on key issues could be made before the withdrawal begins on Aug. 15, Wolfensohn said: "It is my hope that we can get it all settled by then."



The envoy arrived in Israel to mediate talks between Israel and the Palestinians on how to achieve Palestinian freedom of movement after the Gaza pullout, while still addressing Israeli security concerns.



Wolfensohn said Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinians should move quickly and try to reach decisions by next week on how to run border crossings and operate a Palestinian seaport and airport after Israel's pullout from Gaza.



Wolfensohn met later Wednesday with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Muhammad Dahlan, the Palestinian Cabinet minister who is coordinating the pullout.



The Palestinians have complained that the Israelis are stalling.



Wolfensohn said the decisions on new border arrangements are crucial, as they will determine the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians in years to come.



He also said he hoped tens of thousands of jobs could be created for Gaza in the months after the Israeli pullout. Palestinians could be employed in infrastructure projects as well as construction of new homes, to be built in place of Jewish settlements being torn down.



Wolfensohn toured the Erez border crossing - slated to be privatized after disengagement - earlier Wednesday to witness what some 10,000 Palestinians experience daily as they enter Israel to work.



Wolfensohn said after his predawn tour that there is a "need for improvement" at Erez, the main crossing for Gaza Palestinians who work in Israel. Wolfensohn, a former president of the World Bank, is now an international coordinator for economic issues surrounding Israel's upcoming withdrawal from Gaza.



The PA has repeatedly argued that passage between Gaza and Israel is essential for the area's devastated economy to recover after the withdrawal.



Last year, the Erez checkpoint was the site of four terror attacks that claimed the lives of six Israelis. Additional security precautions were added after an attack in which a suicide bomber evaded initial security checks and blew herself up near security forces, killing four.