Mobile Venture Lifts Hope in West Bank

The Palestinian territories' second cellphone carrier launched Tuesday, injecting competition into the wireless market here and delivering a significant vote of confidence in the territories by foreign investors. The Wataniya Mobile venture is one of the largest direct-foreign investments ever in the Palestinian territories. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has embraced it as a private-sector engine of growth for the West Bank's economy, which is plagued by high unemployment and restrictions on goods going in and out through Israel.