Business center coming to Gaza Strip

JERUSALEM, March 3 (JTA) — A ground-breaking ceremony for the Gaza Strip’s first business center took place over the weekend north of Gaza City. The business center, which will include a luxury Marriott hotel and 150,000 square feet of office space, will be dedicated to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, who was killed in a plane crash last year. Brown, who believed that peace and economic growth go hand in hand, said during one of his trips to the Middle East, “This facility will signify that Gaza is open for business.” The $100 million project is expected to employ 2,000 workers during the construction phase and will create up to 4,000 jobs once it is completed.