Israel-Palestine peace deal ‘would be worth billions’

Israelis and Palestinians would gain billions of dollars from making peace with each other, while both would face daunting economic losses in case of other alternatives, particularly in case of a return to violence, according to a study.

The Rand Corp, a US-based nonprofit research organisation, interviewed some 200 officials from the region and elsewhere during more than two years of research into the costs of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Its main finding was that following a peace agreement, Israelis stood to gain $120bn over the course of a decade. The Palestinians would gain $50bn, marking a 36% rise in their average per-capita income, the report said.