Reply #2: The director general of Israel's finance ministry does not agree, pelsar.

[Wordie]

The director general of Israel's finance ministry, Joseph Bachar, said that a strong Palestinian economy was Israel's "mutual interest."

He added: "The necessary conditions for the success of the (peace) process is that we have a growing sustainable (Palestinian) economy."

The Palestinian Minister of National Economy, Mazen Sinokrot, meanwhile acknowledged a "new turning point" in the quest for economic prosperity and welcomed the drive by the private sector.

Note: The declaration placed the responsibility for "achieving sustainable development" on Israel's government, the Palestinian Authority and the international community.)

(The declaration) added: "An open and thriving Palestinian economy will help lay the foundation for a sustainable peace, and a sustainable peace will require an economically and politically viable, liberated and independent Palestinian state."