Jordan Licenses 5 Banks in Occupied Territories:...

Jordan Licenses 5 Banks in Occupied Territories: The government has given the go-ahead to the banks to reopen branches in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Central Bank Gov. Mohammed Saeed Nabulsi said in published comments. Nabulsi said the move is part of an agreement reached with the Palestine Liberation Organization earlier this month to give Jordan a strong say in the economy of the occupied lands, parts of which are expected to come under Palestinian autonomy soon. The Jan. 7 Jordan-PLO agreement provides for, among other things, Jordanian control of banking and monetary affairs of the nearly 2 million residents of the West Bank and Gaza during a proposed five-year interim self-rule period.