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Abbas Giving PA an Economic Boom
(Jerusalem Post) Nina Gilbert - The PA has been experiencing an economic boom since Mahmoud Abbas assumed leadership in late 2004, with a sharp rise in trade, jobs, and consumerism, IDF coordinator of government activities in the territories Maj.-Gen. Yosef Mishlev said Tuesday. Mishlev told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that trade between Israel and the PA has increased by 25% and the flow of merchandise into the West Bank from Jordan and Israel has risen by 50%. Tourism to Bethlehem has jumped 137%. Mishlev attributed the rise in commerce to the IDF's decision to remove roadblocks. Despite the economic progress, Mishlev said the main concern of Palestinians was a phenomenon called "falatan" (total loss of control), which is worse than the anarchy that has been pervading the PA. Mishlev said support for Abbas stood at around 60%, amid a rise in the power of Hamas and a decline in the stature of the Fatah organization that Abbas heads. Mishlev said Fatah's public support had dropped to 40%, with 30% now supporting Hamas.