| Wolfensohn will help aid palestinian reforms Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8183490http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8183490
Bush to Tap Wolfensohn to Aid Palestinian Reforms Thu Apr 14, 2005 11:53 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and key allies have decided to name James Wolfensohn, the outgoing World Bank president, to help coordinate Palestinian political and economic reforms and reconstruction efforts in Gaza, people familiar with decision said on Thursday.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will make the announcement shortly on behalf of the "quartet" of Middle East peace mediators that includes the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
Wolfensohn will be given the job of "not only trying to enhance coordination between Israel and the Palestinians, but would oversee economic assistance components that would help rehabilitate the economy in Gaza," said a source familiar with the decision.
"We welcome this appointment of James Wolfensohn, who in his work with the World Bank here, extended help to the Palestinians. He is a very respectable, decent and dignified man and he is welcomed here," said Saeb Erekat, Palestinian Cabinet minister and chief negotiator.
President Bush has embraced Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "disengagement plan," which calls for evacuating all 21 settlements in Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank.
Sharon had originally envisaged a unilateral withdrawal step but relented after moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was elected in January to succeed the late Yasser Arafat.
Bush says Israel's successful withdrawal from Gaza is an essential step toward reviving negotiations on the quartet-backed "road map" for peace.
The Wolfensohn announcement follows Washington's appointment of Army Lt. Gen. William Ward to help the Palestinians reorganize their competing security services and to promote security cooperation with Israel.
Proponents said it could be helpful to have a point-person on civil issues as Abbas seeks to reform the Palestinian Authority, long accused of corruption, and as Washington increases its economic aid to the Palestinians.
In his State of the Union address, Bush pledged $350 million in aid to the Palestinians. But key U.S. lawmakers have demanded greater political and economic accountability before providing the money directly to the Palestinian Authority.
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