The West Bank Data Project: A Survey of Israel's Policies

By Meron Benvenisti. Washington: American Enterprise Institute, 1984. 97 pp. $15.00 (paperback)

Reviewed by John H. Davis

This publication by the American Enterprise Institute is the fifth in a series of studies designed to enlighten the public on the problem of achieving peace between the Palestinian Arabs and the Israelis. Drawing to some extent on previous information pertinent to the subject, on government reports and statistics, and on the personal knowledge of the author—who was once Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem—it puts the focus on how Israel has governed the West Bank and Gaza Strip since it took them over in June, 1967, and on what the outlook is for the future. Mr. Benvenisti's conclusions in both respects are very gloomy, indeed.

He opens the study with a chapter on the demography of the territory, pointing out that early predictions that the Arab population of the occupied territories would grow at a much faster rate than the Jewish population of Israel have turned out to be wrong. For although the Arab birthrate is higher, outward migration—including the departure of students and skilled workers—has brought the growth down to about the same rate as the combined birthrate and increased immigration of Jews in Israel.

Fostering Dependence

Among the reasons for emigration is the depression of the economy for the Arabs of the West Bank—although not for the Jews who have settled there. A guideline of Israeli policy, Mr. Benvenisti makes clear, is to block the independent development of the territories, because such development would not only bring competition with Israeli products but would be used eventually as the foundation for a Palestinian state. Thus economic dependence is fostered, by such methods as interconnecting all the grids with Israel (roads, electricity, communications, water) and by forcing the territories to use only Israeli ports for import and export.

The survey reports that opportunities for Palestinian entrepreneurs on the West Bank have been tightly controlled, with the number of Arabs working in industry there held static, at about 15,000 persons. Palestinian Arab entrepreneurs are eligible for none of the rather generous public assistance and subsidies that are available to Israeli industrialists. Also market outlets for Arab products in Israel are held to almost zero by the government of Israel, whereas marketing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are open to Israelis. In fact, the dumping of excess Israeli products and produce in Arab areas is a common practice and legal. Furthermore, the creation of Jewish settlements on Arab lands in the West Bank and Gaza Strip includes the design of industrial parks that are open to Jewish settlers and closed to Arabs. Jewish entrepreneurs will also be favored by the availability of public finance for them and not for Arabs. Finally, ownership opportunities and jobs in management and technical openings will be available for Jews—whereas Arabs will be limited to low-skilled tasks.

The author concludes the study by making a stark prediction. "For all practical purposes," he says, "the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip now seem only a matter of time. Theoretically the process might be 'reversible,' but a realistic estimate of the forces at work for annexation as against those that oppose it invites the conclusion that for the foreseeable future all of Palestine will be ruled by the Israeli government, that the Israeli-Palestine conflict has become an internal, ethnic conflict and that Israel now is a dual society."

The Illusion of "Non-Annexation"

Dr. Benvenisti argues that the laws for the territories that have been worked out by the Israelis show every sign of being permanent, even though they have not been "formally applied." By avoiding a move that would be tantamount to annexation, he says, the advocates of annexation are served—but so are their opponents. Thus, "the advocates know that formal annexation would oblige them to deal with the question of the permanent status of the Palestinians; the opponents are interested in retaining the illusion of nonannexation, since it allows them to cling to another illusion—that the options remain open. The indifferent majority could not care less.”

It is unfortunate that the author does not discuss in any detail the need to explore the Palestine question as a prerequisite to enduring peace. Nor does he take up the subject of the potential impact on Israel of the explosion in Arab knowledge of science and technology and the acquisition by Arabs of the skills for the application of such knowledge, particularly on the military front. He also raises, but does not answer, this question: "Is Israel to be a Jewish state or a democratic one?"

Is he suggesting by the term "democratic," that there could be a secular state that would include Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip? Will this become necessary as the basis for an enduring peace?

Be this as it may, on balance the author has given us a good study—taking into account the limitations of the subject. Also valuable are the high-quality maps included in the back of the publication.

John H. Davis is a former Commissioner General of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).