Report: Peace in Palestine Could be Worth $173 Billion
SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 8 (UPI) — An independent Palestine, and peace with neighboring Israel, could yield a $173 billion dividend, a new RAND Corp. report suggests.
The California-based analysis group said in a 272-page study the economic consequences in the next decade, if Palestine should somehow gain immediate statehood, would mean a 36 percent gain in average per capita income, or $1,000, for each Palestinian, and a five percent gain, about $2,200, for each Israeli.
“The point is to demonstrate that there is money on the table,” Charles P. Ries, RAND vice president and co-author of the report, said. “There are big gains, and people don’t realize how big they are.”
Support for Palestinian independence is typically framed as moral arguments, suggesting Palestine has the same right to self-determination as Israel, as well as in security terms, offering the thesis that Israel must end its occupation of Palestinian territory to survive. The new report theorizes Israel’s defense budget could decreaseand economic opportunities for both sides would increase.
The report also calculated the costs of other scenarios, including a violent uprising by Palestinians, which would lower gross domestic product in Israel and the West Bank significantly.
