This is the first report to systematically evaluate and quantify the economic potential of Area C, which constitutes approximately 61 percent of the West Bank. The report reveals that lifting the restrictions on economic activity in Area C could have a large positive impact on Palestinian GDP, public finances, and employment prospects. Among other things, access to economic activity in Area C is expected to be a key prerequisite for building a sustainable Palestinian economy. However, full potential of the Area C could be materialized only if other restrictions on free movement of goods, labor and capital are removed and the overall business environment in Palestinian territories has become more attractive. The economic significance of Area C lies in that it is the only contiguous territory in the West Bank, which renders it indispensable to connective infrastructure development across the West Bank, and a relative abundance of natural resources situated therein. Area C offers large potential for the development of several sectors of the Palestinian economy: agriculture, stone and mineral processing, cosmetics, construction, tourism, and telecommunications. The report shows that access to economic activity in Area C could increase the Palestinian GDP by as much as 35 percent, the majority of this impact would stem from agriculture and Dead Sea minerals processing industries, as well as the multiplier effect, which has been estimated at 1.5. Although the importance of building connective infrastructure through Area C is discussed in the report, the quantification of this impact is beyond the scope of this report. An increase in GDP of 35 percent, although thought to be a conservative estimate, would be expected to result in at least $800 million increase in tax revenues for the Palestinian authority, which would drastically reduce its dependence on donor aid for financing chronic budget deficits.

This is the first report to systematically evaluate and quantify the economic potential of Area C, which constitutes approximately 61 percent of the West Bank. The report reveals that lifting the restreactions on economic activity in Area C is, among other things, probably essential for building a sustainable Palestinian economy.

"War, border closures, violence, and unemployment have hampered the Palestinian economy for over a decade. Despite these obstacles and setbacks, the future outlook is optimistic." Based on the research of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), the World Bank, and other organizations, 'Development Under Adversity' reviews the development of the Palestinian economy since the 1993 Declaration of Principles. The Palestinian economy has enormous potential. Its general development indicators, including life expectancy, literacy, and child mortality rates, are among the best in the Middle East and North Africa. The book identifies the conditions under which the Palestinian economy can grow. They include trade channels that reduce the economy's reliance on Israel; the creation of a more efficient civil service; more investment-oriented public expenditure; and more resourceful support from NGOs in the delivery of health, education, welfare, and infrastructure services. 'Development Under Adversity' provides historical background, an objective examination of recent economic and political developments, and a comprehensive analysis of the contribution that the donor community can make toward alleviating poverty. Throughout its analysis, the book focuses on the human consequences of economic uncertainty. It studies the social and household costs of border closures, and includes complete chapters about the education and health sectors. The result is a book that will be relevant to a wide range of institutional and private lenders, as well as to anyone with a general interest in the well-being and future of the Palestinian economy.

"This report documents how settlement businesses facilitate the growth and operations of settlements. These businesses depend on and contribute to the Israeli authorities' unlawful confiscation of Palestinian land and other resources. They also benefit from these violations, as well as Israel's discriminatory policies that provide privileges to settlements at the expense of Palestinians, such as access to land and water, government subsidies, and permits for developing land"--Publisher's description.

This is the first report to systematically evaluate and quantify the economic potential of Area C, which constitutes approximately 61 percent of the West Bank. The report reveals that lifting the restrictions on economic activity in Area C could have a large positive impact on Palestinian GDP, public finances, and employment prospects. Among other things, access to economic activity in Area C is expected to be a key prerequisite for building a sustainable Palestinian economy. However, full potential of the Area C could be materialized only if other restrictions on free movement of goods, labor and capital are removed and the overall business environment in Palestinian territories has become more attractive. The economic significance of Area C lies in that it is the only contiguous territory in the West Bank, which renders it indispensable to connective infrastructure development across the West Bank, and a relative abundance of natural resources situated therein. Area C offers large potential for the development of several sectors of the Palestinian economy: agriculture, stone and mineral processing, cosmetics, construction, tourism, and telecommunications. The report shows that access to economic activity in Area C could increase the Palestinian GDP by as much as 35 percent, the majority of this impact would stem from agriculture and Dead Sea minerals processing industries, as well as the multiplier effect, which has been estimated at 1.5. Although the importance of building connective infrastructure through Area C is discussed in the report, the quantification of this impact is beyond the scope of this report. An increase in GDP of 35 percent, although thought to be a conservative estimate, would be expected to result in at least $800 million increase in tax revenues for the Palestinian authority, which would drastically reduce its dependence on donor aid for financing chronic budget deficits.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “A deeply reported, deeply personal history of Zionism and Israel that does something few books even attempt: It balances the strength and weakness, the idealism and the brutality, the hope and the horror, that has always been at Zionism’s heart.”—Ezra Klein, The New York Times Winner of the Natan Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Ari Shavit’s riveting work, now updated with new material, draws on historical documents, interviews, and private diaries and letters, as well as his own family’s story, to create a narrative larger than the sum of its parts: both personal and of profound historical dimension. As he examines the complexities and contradictions of the Israeli condition, Shavit asks difficult but important questions: Why did Israel come to be? How did it come to be? Can it survive? Culminating with an analysis of the issues and threats that Israel is facing, My Promised Land uses the defining events of the past to shed new light on the present. Shavit’s analysis of Israeli history provides a landmark portrait of a small, vibrant country living on the edge, whose identity and presence play a crucial role in today’s global political landscape.