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A Palestinian Boycott of Israeli Goods Won't Hurt Israel
(Ha'aretz) Amira Hass - PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called upon Palestinians on Saturday to boycott Israeli products and said he was examining ways to bring about an official boycott that would obligate all inhabitants. However, the economic damage that a Palestinian boycott would cause Israel is trivial. According to a study by the Bank of Israel in 2010, Israeli sales to the PA constituted only 0.9 percent of the revenues in the Israeli economy. Some of these Israeli products include water and electricity, but it is doubtful that Fayyad is suggesting to the Palestinians that they decrease their consumption of these essentials. As the Bank of Israel notes, 38% of Israeli exports to the Palestinians are transfer sales, in which Israeli commercial firms transfer products originating abroad. Another 20% are fuels originating abroad.