The situation is quite different for the Palestinians. There are no proper laws, no legal system to speak of, no planning authorities and no civil service in the proper sense. For many years Israel deliberately prevented economic development and especially public and private investments. Only during 1991 was a change of policy initiated, with private investment encouraged through tax breaks. It was thought that the Israel-PLO accord would change this, but the political, economic and legal aspects of the new reality are still confusing.
Private investors are, rightly, wary.
But this may change. In the immediate future, there is potential in joint ventures with foreign corporations, which will be contracted to put into use international donor funds. The West Bank and Gaza may also benefit indirectly from the surge of contacts between Israeli and Jordanian businesses. Bank Hapoalim in Israel has signed commercial and training agreements with the Jordan Bank and the Jordan-Gulf Bank. A construction and insurance concern in Israel, Africa-Israel, has announced a joint venture with a Jordanian building company.