Israel: Palestinians’ Economy Under Occupation Too Weak for Independence

Hamas Leader Says Gaza Being Used as 'Guinea Pig' for Israeli Missiles

A new Israeli report which will be officially unveiled Wednesday is going to say that the Palestinians economy, after decades of occupation is too weak for them to become an independent state.

The report will say that the Palestinian economy is too unstable and “depends on construction projects” financed by foreign aid which would make it unable to survive as a functioning independent nation.

Absent, at least by all indications, is that a lot of that construction is an effort to rebuild the ruins of Palestinian cities after several Israeli military strikes. The Gaza Strip in particular has been destroyed in large measure by Israeli attacks, and Hamas movement leader Khaled Meshal today accused Israel of using Gaza as a “guinea pig” for testing air-to-surface missiles.

It isn’t clear at any rate why independence would be dependent on having a pre-existing strong economy. A number of nations that have become independent after a protracted military occupation have had a considerable economic rebuilding period, and while Palestine is surely in rough condition at this point, it seems no worse off than 1993 Eritrea or 2011 South Sudan.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.