A1. World Bank, ““Stagnation or Revival? Israeli Disengagement and Palestinian Economic Prospects,““ New York, 1 December 2004 (excerpts).

Abstract

The report, consisting of a forty-two-page overview and three technical reports, seeks to analyze what would be needed to rescue the Palestinian economy on the brink of disintegration ““under the sustained pressures of conflict and Israeli closure policies.”” Prepared for the international donors' conference held in Oslo on 8 December 2004, the report concludes that while major additional donor funding is needed, such aid cannot be effective unless the parties themselves take the steps necessary to repair the economy. In line with this recommendation, the donors' meeting requested that the World Bank establish measures to assess progress, with a major donor conference to be convened if credible steps are taken toward rolling back restrictions and improving security. The excerpts below are from the section ““Disengagement Plus: Israel's Proposals for Easing Closure”” and the final summary section, ““How to Turn the Corner.”” Footnotes have been omitted for reasons of space. The full report is available online at web.worldbank.org.