A Collaborative Development Zone
for Israelis and Palestinians,
Scholarly Edition (October, 2007)

William J. Hartnett

revised text and presentation, in color

136 pages, 115 footnotes, numerous figures

includes the technical report 'Modeling Confrontation'

The historical stalemate is analyzed with a model of the confrontation, offered to help understand the past and begin to lay the groundwork for a new direction.  Research and writing were done at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and the National University of Ireland, Galway. This publication will be of interest in history, political science, law and policy studies.  

The main text first discusses the underlying situation and then develops the policy proposal - a collaborative development zone based on a portfolio endowment policy developed at MIT and CalTech. The collaborative development zone, or 'Green Belt', includes a necklace of enterprise parks centered along the Green Line. The portfolio endowment policy endows each Palestinian and Israeli with a financial instrument composed of a portfolio of Green Belt enterprises. The opportunities here include agriculture, branding, consultancies, cultural marketables, education, finance, health, international institutes, tourism, and utilities.

Topical excerpt: "This proposal is grounded in finance and in international law. It does not presume to prejudge the relative merits of freely arrived at one- or two-state resolutions. The polarity of the relationship is more important than the quantity of states. It is states which exist for the purpose of serving the interests of individuals, peoples and nations - not the reverse... The international community has a vital role in regularizing the Israeli / Palestinian situation in accordance with international law, but other countries have no right to usurp Israeli and Palestinian self-determination."

The genuine collaboration implicit in this proposal goes hand in hand with a reversal in polarity of the relationship between the two peoples. This would remove what is probably the biggest roadblock to genuine improvement in the quality of life for Israelis and Palestinians, where quality of life is taken to include the protection of core values and the enjoyment of both stable security and egalitarian economic development. With authentic leadership this policy proposal is a realistic choice for the two peoples.  It is the opposite of using finance or risky mega-projects to conquer, but is rather based on mutual respect for self-determination and a willingness to work for genuine sustainable development.

Now available also from MIT CopyTech
Excerpts available from MIT CopyTech and National University of Ireland SSRC