But even in a region where politics continue to be the central challenge facing the international community, it is an important truth. In fact, when one looks closely at the dynamics of the overall situation and the prospects for the future in the Middle East, nowhere is the link between economic and foreign policy more relevant. History teaches that countries with rapidly growing economies are more likely to maintain political stability and less likely to become involved in conflicts, either at home or abroad. Of course economic prosperity does not eliminate political struggle and tension, nor should it be a substitute for democratic ideals. But it does foster peaceful and evolutionary resolution of differences and attainment of national consensus.
Prosperity expands life choices.
This is why the reconstruction of the Palestinian economy is so profoundly important. Without economic growth in Gaza and the West Bank, it will be extraordinarily difficult to continue to advance political reconciliation. That is broadly comparable to the per capita income of countries like Turkey, Algeria, Thailand, and the Ukraine. It is equivalent in size, as MIT economist Stanley Fischer likes to point out, to the economy of Newton, Massachusetts. The Palestinian economy is neither large nor typical.