Palestinian Authority ministries and government institutions will soon be connected via electronic networking, according to a draft agreement signed on Tuesday.

The agreement, ratified by the PA Ministries of Telecommunication and Finance, will be implemented in several phases, initially by connecting all major institutions via an Ethernet network, followed by government institutions and their branches in all the districts.

"This process has several advantages, including transparency, easy access to information, better performance by ministries, and administrative supervision," said Telecommunications Minister Mashour Abu Duqqa, who attended the signing ceremony.

While only West Bank ministries will initially take part in the project, Abu Duqqa told Ma'an that future plans include a network for universities and schools, in which universities in Gaza will be able to participate.

"Citizens will feel the advantage when they go to submit different applications, petitions, and daily transactions which need approval of more than one governmental institution," said Abu Duqqa, who assured that the necessary safety measures will be taken against Internet hackers.

Additionally, the minister said that information would be protected from the destruction of computers and office files, which often occurred during Israeli raids of governmental offices.

"In Palestine, no Web sites are banned, nor is it allowed to eavesdrop on any telephone [calls]," Abu Duqqa said, assuring privacy and freedom of information.

The signing ceremony was attended by the general manager of PalTel, Ammar Al-Ikir, and chief accountant of the Ministry of Finance Yousif Az-Zumar.