The Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) is aimed at strengthening the economy of Palestine and supporting a future Palestinian state. It took place in the Convention Palace Bethlehem in 2008 [1] and 2010. The conference was hosted in 2008 by Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad [2] and in 2010 by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. It was attended by the official envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East, Tony Blair. [3] In 2010, the U.S. delegation was led by the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George J. Mitchell. [4]
The 2008 conference was focused on large development initiatives. One outcome is the planned city of Rawabi. [5] [6] The 2010 conference focused on small and medium enterprises. [7]
The West Bank, so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of Western Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
Arab–Israeli peace projects are projects to promote peace and understanding between the Arab League and Israel in different spheres. These are part of a broader attempt at a peace process between Palestinians and Israelis. Sponsors of such projects can be found both in Israel and Palestine.
The economy of the State of Palestine refers to the economic activity of the State of Palestine.
Intermittent discussions are held by various parties and proposals put forward in an attempt to resolve the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict through a peace process. Since the 1970s, there has been a parallel effort made to find terms upon which peace can be agreed to in both the Arab–Israeli conflict and in the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. Some countries have signed peace treaties, such as the Egypt–Israel (1979) and Jordan–Israel (1994) treaties, whereas some have not yet found a mutual basis to do so.
The Quartet on the Middle East or Middle East Quartet, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or Madrid Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international and supranational entities involved in mediating the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. The Quartet comprises the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia. The group was established in Madrid in 2002, recalling Madrid Conference of 1991, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Salam Fayyad is a Jordanian-Palestinian politician, who served as the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority and the finance minister.
International aid has been provided to Palestinians since at least the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The Palestinians view the aid as keeping the Israeli–Palestinian peace process going, while Israelis and other foreign policy authorities have raised concerns that it is used to fund terrorism and removes the imperative for Palestinians to negotiate a settlement of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. As a provision of the Oslo Accords, international aid was to be provided to the Palestinians to ensure economic solvency for the Palestinian National Authority (PA). In 2004, it was reported that the PA, within the West Bank and Gaza Strip, receives one of the highest levels of aid in the world. In 2006, economic sanctions and other measures were taken by several countries against the PA, including suspension of international aid following Hamas’ victory at the Palestinian Legislative Council election. Aid to the PA resumed in 2008 following the Annapolis Conference, where Hamas was not invited. Aid has been provided to the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian non-governmental organizations (PNGOs) as well as Palestinian political factions by various foreign governments, international organizations, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), and charities, besides other sources.
Hady Amr is an American government official serving as special representative for Palestinian affairs since 22 November 2022. He was previously Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs within the U.S. Department of State. The new position is a significant upgrade in relations with Palestine. He was appointed to the role under President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021. He was born in Lebanon, and has close ties to the region, being praised by both Israeli and Palestinian leaders alike.
Rochester Institute of Technology of Dubai is a satellite campus of Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, USA, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The college is located in the Dubai Silicon Oasis and started offering part-time graduate courses in Fall 2008. In 2009, the university began its full-time graduate program. RIT Dubai's first graduating class was in 2010, with the graduation ceremony taking place in Rochester, NY. In 2010, a full-time undergraduate program was started as part of the university's planned expansion. In the fall of 2011, RIT Dubai moved its campus to a new premises to accommodate the growing student body. By 2019, RIT plans to expand the campus to 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) to provide facilities for 4,000 students.
Ahmed Abukhater is an architect, environmental scientist, and an urban and regional planner by trade. He is an author, powerlifter, and the first athlete to represent Palestine at the World Association of Bench Pressers and Dead lifters (WABDL) World Powerlifting Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2006.
The water resources of Palestine are de facto fully controlled by Israel, and the division of groundwater is subject to provisions in the Oslo II Accord.
Rawabi is the first planned city built for and by Palestinians in the West Bank, and is hailed as a "flagship Palestinian enterprise." Rawabi is located near Birzeit and Ramallah. The master plan envisages a high tech city with 6,000 housing units, housing a population of between 25,000 and 40,000 people, spread across six neighborhoods. Construction began in January 2010. By 2014, 650 family apartments housing an estimated 3,000 people had been completed and sold, but could not be occupied while negotiations over supplying the city with water stalled. The city remained without water; the delay was attributed to the Israeli–Palestinian Joint Water Committee, with Israelis blaming Palestinians for the delay and Palestinians blaming Israelis. On 1 March 2015, its developer, Bashar al-Masri, announced that Israel would finally connect the city up to the Israeli-controlled water grid. In Israel Rawabi is called "The Palestinian Modi'in." The project was criticized by certain Palestinian movements, such as the Palestinian National BDS Committee, and some Israeli settler groups, the former claiming the use of Israeli materials normalizes the occupation, the latter asserting the project invades Israel and could become a terrorist base. Buyers started moving into apartments in August 2015. By May 2017, despite difficulties with flying Israeli checkpoints controlling the road to the city, Masri claimed that 3,000 Palestinians had taken up residence there, though the Palestinian census for the same year only listed 710 residents.
Bashar Masri is a Palestinian entrepreneur and businessman. He is the founder and Chairman of the Board of Massar International since its establishment in 1994. He is the founder and visionary behind the high-tech "Rawabi City”, Palestine's first planned city, he is also the founder and the CEO of Bayti Real Estate Investment Company that built the city. He founded and manages the first Palestinian equity fund, a $90 million investment initiative known as "Siraj Fund". He's on the list of the "Top Ten Richest People of Palestine in 2016." Masri was named by the World Economic Forum as a Global Leader of Tomorrow and ranked among the World's 50 Greatest Leaders in 2018 by Fortune magazine.
Ali Jarbawi is the former Minister of Planning and Administrative Development and the former Minister of Higher Education of the Government of the Palestinian National Authority.
The Palestinian–Serbian relations are bilateral relations between the State of Palestine and the Republic of Serbia. Relations between Serbia and Palestine have been very close and friendly. Even though Serbia had reestablished relations with Israel in 1991, its relations with Palestine still remain excellent.
The Valley of Peace initiative is an effort to promote economic cooperation between Israel, Jordan, and Palestine based around efforts and joint projects in the Arava/Arabah Valley, along which runs the southern portion of the Israel - Jordan border. It received the personal attention and support of Shimon Peres, President of Israel. The initiative involved ongoing joint efforts by regional leaders to launch joint new industrial and economic projects, which will create new local businesses and job growth, and promote ongoing cooperation.
Israel–Palestine relations refers to the political, security, economical and other relations between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine. Israel and the PLO began to engage in the late 1980s and early 1990s in what became the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, culminated with the Oslo Accords in 1993. Shortly after, the Palestinian National Authority was established and during the next 6 years formed a network of economic and security connections with Israel, being referred to as a fully autonomous region with self-administration. In the year 2000, the relations severely deteriorated with the eruption of the Al-Aqsa Intifada – a rapid escalation of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The events calmed down in 2005, with reconciliation and cease fire. The situation became more complicated with the split of the Palestinian Authority in 2007, the violent split of Fatah and Hamas factions, and Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip. The Hamas takeover resulted in a complete rift between Israel and the Palestinian faction in the Gaza Strip, cancelling all relations except limited humanitarian supply.
Israeli–Palestinian economic peace efforts refers to efforts to promote joint economic projects between Israelis and Palestinians, as a pathway to reach peace between the two groups.
The Trump peace plan, officially titled "Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People", was a proposal by the Trump administration to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. President Donald Trump formally unveiled the plan in a White House press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 28 January 2020. The plan had been delayed by two years and previously rejected by the Palestinians, who were not invited to the meeting.