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Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3342996,00.html
Refusal to Cooperate Leaves Arab Economies Far Behind Israel's
[Ynet News] Guy Bechor - This year Israel recorded the best economic year in its history. In the 1990s, Israel proposed that the Arab world join it to transform the Middle East in a grand renaissance of prosperity and renewal. The Arabs rejected the vision and a new Middle East didn't materialize. On the contrary, the vision only led to the rise of Islamic defiance that found itself threatened by it. Israel sincerely wanted to advance a joint economy with the Palestinians and Jordan, but Arab leaders refused. In December 2006, Israel's GNP stands at $150 billion, up from last year's $132 billion. The GNP of the Palestinian Authority, with whom we sought a unified economy without borders, is $3 billion. We are speaking about two completely different economies, with a clear distinction between the destitution of the third world and the achievements of the first world. If the economies of all our neighboring countries are put together, they almost amount to Israel's level of GNP, and this is while we have one hand tied behind our backs after six years of intifada.