The Price of Peace: A Reevaluation of the Economic Dimension in the Middle East Peace Process

The economic offshoot of the Oslo Accords governing Israeli-Palestinian economic cooperation failed in 2000. The Paris Protocol, as it was known, has become increasingly irrelevant due to the Israeli closures policy, disengagement, and economic policies aimed at maintaining the status quo, asymmetry, and dependence in Israel-Palestine economic relations. This article argues that not only is a new version of the Protocol urgently required, but that it should facilitate cooperation on some final status issues, including the future of Palestinian refugees and the economic status of Jerusalem. The greatest threat to a new protocol is a lack of trust and security that stems from political issues, ongoing disputes over settlements, and the non-resolution of final status issues. For international donors such as the US, the price of peace stacked against tackling the accumulating economic cost of related conflicts, terrorism and regional insecurity will make even long term and sustained investment look favorable.