CBNNews.com - ARIEL, Israel - The Israeli city of Ariel, in the hills of Samaria, has been given the go-ahead to build 27 new factories in its industrial park.

The industrial park, first approved in 1998, has 12 working factories, so the 27 new factories -- scheduled for completion in 15 months -- will triple the size of the park, providing between 1,500 and 2,000 new jobs.

Though the anti-settlement Peace Now organization decried the move, Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman pointed out that Jews and Palestinians work side-by-side in the industrial park.

"I want to ask how many jobs Peace Now has created for the Palestinians," Nachman asked The Jerusalem Post.

"One big zero," he said, adding that creating jobs for both Jews and Palestinians "is the real, true meaning of co-existence."

Source: The Jerusalem Post