INDEX OF POLICY PAPERS

 

By Author

 

By Number

 

By Date:

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

 

By Topic:

Arab Anti-Semitism

Arafat

Golan

Ideology & Values

Islamic Threat

Israel's Grand Strategic Thinking

Israel's Strategic Alliances

Israel and its Neighbors

Israeli Media

Jewish Pathology

Middle East Arms Escalation

Middle East Defense Expenditures

Middle East Economy

Middle East "Peace Process"

Middle East Terror

Missile Threat

Oslo Accords -
Legal Aspects

Palestinian State

Settlements

Territorial Strategic Assets

Zionist Challenge

THE CUSTOMS UNION BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Talia Einhorn

Policy Paper No. 12, From the book
ISRAEL AT THE CROSSROADS, 1997

Executive Summary

The Israel-PLO Protocol on Economic Relations reflects the schizophrenia that afflicts the Agreement as a whole. Is it an agreement to separate Israel from the Palestinians, politically and economically, or is it an agreement of cooperation that will bring about an integration of their economies? These questions can hardly be answered before the parties have reached a shared clear view of the final status. Whatever political options may be under consideration, the provisions of the Protocol have created a dangerous situation, more of an invitation to a trade war than economic cooperation. The Protocol should have been designed to provide the economic foundation for an improved standard of living and for social progress. Instead, it has contributed to the impoverishment of the Palestinian population.