Peace, not violence, would bring billions of dollars in profits to Israelis and the Palestinians.
Israelis would gain $120 billion over the course of a decade should a two-state solution be reached, according to a new study from the RAND Corp., a U.S.-based nonprofit research organization. This would be a 5 percent ($2,200) average per capita income for each Israeli, compared to a 36 percent ($1,000) increase for every Palestinian. The Palestinians would gain $50 billion overall, the survey found. The Palestinians seek the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as part of their future state, but so far peace talks have not been successful.
“We hope our analysis and tools can help Israelis, Palestinians and the international community understand more clearly how present trends are evolving and recognize the costs and benefits of alternatives to the current destructive cycle of action, reaction and inaction,” said C. Ross Anthony, co-leader of the study and director of RAND’s Israeli-Palestinian Initiative.
Should there be a return to violence, the Israeli economy would lose roughly $250 billion in economic opportunities, while the Palestinians would see their per capita gross domestic product fall by as much as 46 percent.
The study interviewed roughly 200 officials from the region, as well as elsewhere, in addition to doing more than two years of research into the costs of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The five different scenarios assessed were: a two-state solution, a coordinated unilateral withdrawal, an uncoordinated unilateral withdrawal, nonviolent resistance and a violent uprising. The economic benefit for each side dropped moving from the first scenario to the second, and onward.
According to RAND, teams are in the region presenting their findings to both Israeli and Palestinian officials.
(h/t The Associated Press)
