Palestine based mobile operators Paltel and Wataniya have been granted permission to build third generation (3G) mobile networks in Gaza and the West Bank.

As local mobile operators for the region they have been losing money on their 2G networks and have been pushing to be allowed to install 3G technology as local demand for data services on social media applications and video soars.

However, they have been restricted from doing so until now as a result of terms of the interim regional peace accord between Palestine and Israel. With the latter given say in allocating radio frequencies in the West Bank it has previously told the Palestinian Authority that there were not enough frequencies for 3G and that its mobile telcos should lease access to them from Israeli providers.

However, after a recent study by the Israeli Communications Ministry, which included a security examination, the Israeli government made the decision to allocate spectrum to allow 3G services to be run by the local telcos.

In a statement to Palestinian official news agency WAFA The Palestinian Authority Minister of Civil Affairs, Hussein al-Sheikh, said the signing of a joint memorandum of understanding with the Israeli government is a step closer to resolving outstanding issues between the two sides.

“This agreement will enable the companies benefiting from the service to begin coordination with the Palestinian ministry of telecommunication to begin the implementation of the agreement on the ground,” said Al-Sheikh.

Israel’s Communications Ministry has allocated a number of high-speed 4G frequencies to Israeli mobile phone operators, reports Reuters.