Jump-Starting the Palestinian Economy

February 10, 2009

A group of prominent and active private sector Palestinian businessmen from the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, made the following recommendations for revitalizing the Palestinian economy late last year:

Normalization of Movement and Access
• Improve movement of goods and people
• Increase VIP permits for investors and businessmen
• Ease restrictions on foreigners’ entry, particularly those of Palestinian origin, to Israel and the Palestinian territories for business-related purposes
• Increase and expedite the process for work permits for Palestinians in Gaza to work in the West Bank
• Advanced scanners for containers at checkpoints
• Accelerate clearance of goods from Israeli ports
• Increase and expedite the number of work permits for Gazans to work in the West Bank
• Improve the transportation between Gaza and the West Bank

Economic Catalysts
• Political Risk Insurance Coverage
• Mortgage Loan Guarantee
• Re-normalization of banking services between Palestinian and Israeli banks with support from the Bank of Israel
• Re-activate industrial zones in the West Bank
• Encourage Arab, U.S. and EU private business partnerships with Palestinians to facilitate exports of Palestinian goods
• Help export agricultural products to the European Union, United States and the Arab world

Infrastructure and Tourism
• Engage in materializing projects, like the RAND ARC Project
• Facilitate interconnection of electricity grid between the West Bank/Gaza and Jordan/Egypt
• Accelerate the development of the offshore gas field in Gaza
• Increase investment and upgrade water projects in the West Bank
• Create a joint Palestinian/ Jordanian/Israeli tourism task force



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Original Commentaries

03/18/10
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03/16/10
Maintaining the Unbreakable Bond  —Robert Wexler, former Congressman; president, S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace. Interview with Middle East Progress.
03/11/10
First Reactions  —

Setting the Record Straight

U.S. and Israel Have Shared Interests

“I think it's a big deal. This is a fight that the White House has picked. … I think it surprised Netanyahu. Netanyahu apologized to Vice President Biden … And he expressed regret. … And they thought the thing had been put to bed … And then for some reason … the White House at the highest levels—the president decided let's make a big fuss about this … I do not know, honestly, why the president chose to pick a big public fight just when it was all dying down with Israel.”
—William Kristol, editor, Weekly Standard, Fox News Sunday, March 14, 2010versus
  • “[T]he president, the vice president, secretary of State did exactly the right thing for American interests and for Israel ... [F]irst of all, they were speaking for many secretaries of State, many presidents in the past who have had Israeli settlements shoved in their face before, during, and after a visit by Israel. ... So there's a lot of backstory here, this isn't just about that trip.“Then let's look at the moment we're in. We have an Israeli prime minister from the right who actually could deliver the right. He's done actually a lot of good things on the ground in the West Bank. You have to give him credit for that. We have the best Palestinian leadership we've had in a long time. And we have a Sunni Arab world obsessed with Iran, ready to work with Israel more than ever. You'd think in that context Israel could say to the United States, you know, ‘You're doing all this for us, we're just going to stop settlements in Jerusalem, in the West Bank, not temporarily, not moratorium. We're going to give you a chance to actually test the other side whether they're for real. ... Barack Obama, this Bud's for you. We're going to do this for the American people.’ Is that anti-Semitism, is that anti-Israelism, to ask that of an Israeli government, to ask, act first in its own interest and then in America's interest? I don't think so.”
    —Tom Friedman, columnist, The New York Times, Meet the Press, March 14, 2010

    • Middle East Analysis

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    Event: October 1, 2009 - 12:00pm-1:00pm

    Introduction:
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    Featured speaker:
    Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)

    Moderated by:
    Moran Banai, U.S. Editor of Middle East Bulletin

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