Economic Development is No Substitute for Two-State Solution

May 4, 2010
“The West Bank governs itself. It’s not a country exactly, but then neither is Kosovo or Nagorno-Karabakh. The international community does not invest much energy worrying about the precise status of either of these autonomous self-governing regions. Why not allow the Palestinian Authority to stumble along in the same way? … Then, for the time being—a time that may stretch for decades—everybody tacitly agrees to live with the status quo: The Israelis keep what they have, the West Bank Palestinians commit to keep order on their side of the fence, Hamas remains an international pariah, foreign aid continues to flow to the West Bank so long as good behavior continues. No process, no treaty, just quiet and development.”
—David Frum, “Peace Without the Process,” National Post, May 1, 2010
  • “Even though the economic situation in the West Bank has improved over the last two years and Abu Mazen and Fayyad repeatedly declare that they oppose a resumption of the violent confrontation with Israel, such pronouncements do not guarantee security stability over time. Although the population's sense of economic welfare is gradually evolving, given the occupation and settlement construction, there will always be motivation to resume the confrontational approach. … The absence of a political process will deny the PA legitimacy to continue working intensively against Hamas on the West Bank.”
    —Col. (Ret.) Ephraim Lavie, director, Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace, Tel Aviv University, “Between Settlement and Crisis: The Next Round of the Palestinian Issue,” Strategic Assessment, INSS, February 2010


    • Subscribe to Middle East Progress Alerts

    Support Middle East Progress

    In-Depth Coverage

    Original Commentaries

    Setting the Record Straight

    Determined to Reach a Common Objective

    “We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

    Middle East Analysis

    Upcoming Events

    The U.S. Agency for International Development and Conflict: Hard Lessons from the Field

    May 17, 2011, 12:00pm – 1:15pm

    From Afghanistan and Iraq to Pakistan, Somalia, and South Sudan, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is engaged daily in trying to help some of the most troubled nations on the planet make a lasting transition to stability, open markets, and democracy. Few areas of the agency’s work are more challenging or more controversial.

    Join us for remarks by, and a roundtable with, the deputy administrator of USAID, Ambassador

    more