Daniel Nestor, the economic and commercial attache at the United States Consulate in East Jerusalem, denied to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that he had made remarks disparaging to Israel at a recent meeting with West Bank Arab businessmen in Ramallah.
According to press reports here, Nestor said at a Ramallah Chamber of Commerce meeting that the West Bankers soon will not need Israeli permits to conduct business “because Israel will have nothing to say in these matters.” Nestor also allegedly advised the Arab merchants to do business directly with American firms rather than through Israeli or Jordanian firms and suggested that they open their own office in the U.S. to encourage American investments on the West Bank.
Nestor told the JTA that he had said nothing of a political nature to the Ramallah Chamber of Commerce. He said he had merely informed the Arab merchants of the trade opportunity program offered by the U.S. Department of Commerce which promoted contacts between American and overseas businessmen. “My job is simply to explain the services and to promote the trade,” Nestor told the JTA.
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