A 'Palestinian' Marshall plan?
The Marshall plan was provided by the United States to reconstruct Europe after World War II. Now, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon (pictured) has asked Arab countries to set up a similar plan for the 'Palestinians.'
A top Israeli official urged Arab states on Tuesday to create a 10 billion dollar "Marshall Plan" to boost the Palestinian economy and support Middle East peace talks.
"The Arab countries could do much more. First and foremost is Saudi Arabia," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told a meeting of foreign diplomats and journalists.
"In order to create hundreds of thousands of jobs -- which can easily be done -- we need a kind of a Marshall Plan that will really build an industrial base and in order to do that the Palestinians need foreign investments.
"If you look at Saudi Arabia, with the trillions upon trillions of dollars that they have from exporting oil, they certainly could allow some money to go to the Palestinians in a way which will be conducive to the economy.
"My estimate, which is a very conservative one, is that 10 billion dollars now in Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank), in the Palestinian economy, could do marvels, miracles."
Second, at the time that the Marshall plan was provided, the United States and its allies occupied Germany and completely ran the country. That's not true in the 'Palestinian Authority' either. While there is an IDF presence, the 'Palestinians' for the most part manage their own affairs. If they choose to siphon money off to Swiss bank accounts, as Yasser Arafat did, it is possible that no one will be able to stop them.
Would you invest $10 billion in the 'Palestinian Authority'? I wouldn't. And neither will the Arab countries, who couldn't care less about the 'Palestinians.' The 'Palestinians' have to build their economy from the bottom up - just like nearly every other country in the world did.
Israel Matzav: A 'Palestinian' Marshall plan?
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