The Israeli and Palestinian Arab business communities have picked Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu to head the Jerusalem Arbitration Center (JAC), which mediates commercial conflicts between the two sides.
Hisarcıklıoğlu, the chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), was selected as a result of a common proposal between both Palestinian Arab and Israeli businesspeople. Hisarcıklıoğlu, is considered the Turkish president's right hand and one of the senior figures in the Turkish economy.
The announcement came during a signing ceremony held last week of an agreement to establish a center for arbitration between Palestinian and Israeli businesses.
ICC Israel President Oren Shachor noted that "The commerce between Israel and the Palestinians is huge – about US$20 billion annually. The Jerusalem Arbitration Center (JAC) will lead to mutual security of transactions and to doubling of the volume of commerce within five years,"
The JAC will be headed by Shachor and by Palestinian businessman Munib al-Masri, president of ICC Palestine, who led the initiative.
The center will adjudicate disputes between parties that apply for a ruling, and the ruling will be recognized by courts in Israel and the PA. The Palestinian government and legal system have pledged to respect the arbitration's rulings.
The cases will reach the Center through agreed upon clauses in contracts between Israeli and Palestinian firms, which will determine which disputes will be referred to the JAC.
