Rand Corporation: Build infrastructure corridor between West Bank, Gaza

The recommendations will cost about $33 billion in capital investment in the first ten years.

The Rand Corporation, one of the world's leading research institutes, yesterday published recommendations for building successful Palestinian state, after a two-year study. The Rand Corporation states, "Creating a state of Palestine does not ensure its success, but for Palestinians, Israelis and many around the world, it is profoundly important that the state succeed. A failed Palestinian state, or one so weak that it must be sustained and policed by others, would endanger international security."

A report produced under the oversight of RAND Health entitled “Building a Successful Palestinian State” describes many of the proposals. A companion volume by the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy entitled “The Arc: A Formal Structure for a Palestinian State” proposes a new corridor from the northern West Bank to Gaza that would help achieve the goals of the first report, enabling Palestinians to build a more prosperous future and cope with rapid population growth.

The Rand Corporation writes, "The corridor called the Arc would support a high-speed 140-mile (225-kilometer) interurban rail line, highway, aqueduct, energy network and fiber optic cable linking Palestine's major towns and cities. This would act as a catalyst to generate housing, jobs and business development. Construction of the Arc would create an estimated 100,000 to 160,000 jobs for Palestinians over five years, on top of thousands more jobs in new businesses built along the corridor. It would also foster revitalization of historic city centers and preserve forests, nature reserves and agricultural land… The Arc would link the major towns and cities of Palestine including Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Hebron, and Gaza City making it possible to travel from southern Gaza to the northern West Bank in less than 90 minutes."

The Rand Corporation continues, "Recommendations in the reports could be implemented for approximately $33 billion in capital investment in the first ten years of a new state. This represents an annual average of about $760 per person a level that is broadly comparable with other recent nation-building efforts. An estimated $6 billion of the investment would be used to build the core rail and road infrastructure of the Arc. Billions of dollars would need to come from international assistance and investment, combined with Palestinian spending and private investment. Security arrangements for Palestine would also need international financial commitments.

"The studies say the chances of success of a Palestinian state will increase with a high level of territorial contiguity of Palestinian lands (apart from the separation of Gaza from the West Bank); relatively open borders allowing movement of people and goods between Palestine and its neighbors, especially Israel; and security within Palestine and for its neighbors… the reports are designed to provide helpful ideas that Palestinians and other involved parties can study and develop further to best meet the needs of the Palestinian people. They are also designed to help a new Palestinian state avoid some of the problems encountered in nation-building initiatives in Iraq and elsewhere."

The Rand Corporation says “…the success of an independent Palestinian state is inconceivable in the absence of peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike…. An independent Palestinian state must be secure within its borders, provide for the routine safety of its inhabitants, be free from subversion or foreign exploitation, and pose no threat to Israel.

"Economic development will depend on human capital, with stronger systems of primary, secondary and vocational education. Other important conditions include Palestinian access to the Israeli labor market to get jobs, and substantial freedom of movement of people and products across Palestine's borders, including the border with Israel.

"A successful Palestinian state will need adequate supplies of clean water for domestic consumption, commercial and industrial development, and agriculture. Today Palestinians have only half the minimum amount of water per person established by the World Health Organization. Coping with a severe and worsening water shortage will require a combination of measures to enhance supply and restrain demand. One way to provide Palestinians with enough water to meet World Health Organization standards would be for Israel and Palestine to renegotiate the allocation of existing water resources. Removing water from aquifers beyond sustainable limits must be halted to avoid creating worse shortages. Increased efficiencies, water re-use, and irrigation management should be used to deal with part of the water shortfall. The international community should be ready to finance construction of desalinization plants and infrastructure improvements.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on April 28, 2005

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