GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian government is continuing its effort to disengage economically from Israel. Palestinian Minister of National Economy Khaled al-Asaily has asked Egypt to support finalizing Palestinian participation in the Agadir Agreement on free trade among Arab states.
In March 2017, Palestinians obtained initial approval to join the agreement from the foreign ministers of the pact's signatories: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan. Protocols are generally supposed to be completed within six months so the Senior Foreign Trade Official Committee can submit recommendations to the four foreign affairs ministers for approval. However, Palestinians are waiting for the ministers to meet. A date hasn't been set.