A Glimmer in the West Bank

Two years ago, after interviewing Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, I wrote that disparate narratives would soon emerge from the two Palestinian territories. Today, after the World Bank-trained Fayyad has had some time and room to work, and after Israel laid siege to Gaza, reducing perhaps 15,000 homes to rubble and killing more than 1,300 — that seems to be the case.

The International Monetary Fund suggested last week that the West Bank could yield 7.5 percent economic growth in the coming year if Israel lifts cumbersome restrictions on movement that have stifled the commerce since the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000.

Last month at the Aspen Ideas festival, now Prime Minister Fayyad laid out an ambitious goal. He pointed to the summer of 2007, highlighting the Hamas takeover of Gaza and the utter lawlessness in the West Bank as a pivot point at which Palestinian Authority leadership committed itself to institution building.

He concluded: "Two years from now ... it will not be difficult for anyone to look toward us and come to the conclusion, indeed the Palestinians do have a state, save for the occupation." His hope is that the grassroots of successful governance might begin to flourish, or continue to flourish, sooner than many have projected possible. "Ladies and gentlemen, every time we take a step in the direction of having a function of the state performed competently, it is a step toward freedom.

"If we do that, we will have succeeded. That's our message."

Anecdotally, the opening of a movie theater in the West Bank city of Nablus, as well as the disappearance of masked gunmen in the streets, has been the fodder for the hopes of the international media. More tangible, the training of PA security personnel by American forces in Jordan appears to be baring fruit.

By the end of the year, the PA will have a total of seven American trained battalions.

And as the West Bank prepares for the possibility of success, a unity deal between Hamas and Fatah looks as unlikely as ever. Planned talks between the two factions have been punted down the line until late August, and the embargo of Gaza remains intact, though the Israeli Ministry of Defence is considering easing some restrictions for the Ramadan holiday.

It's important to note that the West Bank's successes are not necessarily attributable to Israeli cushioning. A World Bank study released last month suggests that "progress in the relaxation of these restrictions during 2008 has been marginal at best." And unemployment is still desperately high: 18 percent in the West Bank — though it may appear marginal alongside Gaza's 40 percent.

In Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's continued offer of economic peace — which Palestinian leadership has rebuffed for fear of implications on political peace — there is the admission that Israel has waged an economic war. This is a very different notion than the justification that currently supports roadblocks and checkpoints — particularly in the case of the West Bank — which is grounded in the argument that intrusions are essential to prevent Israel from being attacked.

And in this glimmer in Fayyad's West Bank is the proof positive that only a lawful, economically aspirant Palestine can be a peaceful Palestine. And all efforts to the contrary — be they economic suffocation or military incursion —- are tantamount to preventing peace.

The occupation ended in Gaza, but no state magically emerged. Let's hope Fayyad, with more time, hopefully more support, and, most importantly, more room for commerce to flow will be able to reverse the tides of an economic war.

Brian Till, one of the nation's youngest syndicated columnists, is a research fellow for the New America Foundation, a think tank in Washington. He can be contacted at till@newamerica.net. To find out more about the author and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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