BILIN, West Bank — On a recent weekday, Muhammad Abu Rahma returned to the place where Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers used to clash in weekly confrontations that made the West Bank village of Bilin a symbol of resistance against the Israeli occupation. But this time, he came not to protest but to picnic with his wife and three children. He had served three terms in prison for his activities at the height of the protests. “People want money to live, and permits,” he said, referring to the Israeli permits allowing laborers to work in Israel, where they can earn twice as much as they do in the Palestinian territories. On the surface, his experience seems to confirm the correlation between economic growth and peace — the logic behind the Trump administration’s recent economic conference in Bahrain, which was meant to show the financial benefits awaiting Palestinians if they signed on to the yet-to-be-released Trump peace plan.

Source: International New York Times July 08, 2019 17:25 UTC