Achlama Peretz, who is a contender in the Sderot mayoral race, is calling for a free trade zone in Sderot, similar to Eilat, in an effort to boost the southern municipality�s ailing economy. If her plan is approved by the national government, items sold in Sderot would be free of the 15.5% value added tax.

Mrs. Peretz, the wife of former Defense Minister Amir Peretz, is circulating a petition which she hopes to submit to lawmakers as she continues her campaign to enlist support for the free trade zone idea.

(Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)