Dr. Oscar Gass, economic advisor to the Israeli Government, who has represented the Israeli Ministry of Finance in negotiations with the Export-Import Bank, told a press conference here today that none of the credit extended by the Bank to Israel would be used for military purposes nor for projects such as the rehabilitation and absorption of immigrants or orphaned refugees.
Funds from the $100,000,000 Export-Import Bank loan announced here last night, Dr. Gass stated, will be used exclusively for investment outlays, He added that none of the contemplated agricultural projects for which the Bank funds will be used are situated in disputed Palestine territory.
Dr. Gaas said that the agricultural projects for which the funds were granted by the Bank include expansion of existing farming programs–particularly citrus culture–and development of new agricultural programs. Most of the contemplated agricultural projects lie along the coastal plain between Haifa and Rehovoth.
New irrigation projects will be undertaken only in areas in which water is available from local sources, such as in the north near the Jordan River’s sources, in the Esdraelon Valley region and in the central and southern coastal plains.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
