The West Bank and Gaza Strip, occupied by Israel since 1967, have stagnated in the number employed (some 17,000) in domestic industry for 20 years and in the percentage contribution (8.5 per cent) to the gross domestic product. Their 4,000 establishments are mostly workshops employing on average just over four workers. Food and textiles are the dominant industries and there is much sub-contracting for Israeli firms. Some 90 per cent of industrial imports come from or through Israel and some 70 per cent of their industrial exports go to Israel, with the remainder going to or through Jordan. There are many barriers to the development of industry in the occupied territories but they overwhelmingly have their origin in the occupation itself and to a lesser degree result from difficulties made by Jordan. The Military Government runs the territories to ensure not only military security but also Israel's "economic security." Three alternative economic scenarios are projected to 1997 based on three possible futures facing the territories: (a) a conservative scenario based on continuing the occupation in its present form (status quo); (b) a reformist scenario in which both Israel and Jordan liberalize their policies within the framework of continued occupation; and (c) a radical scenario in which Israel leaves the territories in return for peace, and a separate Palestinian entity is established. In terms of industrial development the conservative scenario would yield minimal results, the reformist scenario some minor improvements in the "quality of life," and the radical scenario would result in rapid industrial development and settlement of returning refugees.

The West Bank Data Base Project is an independent research group established in 1982 to study and analyze demographic, social spatial, legal, economic and political conditions in the West Bank and Gaza. The project, which is directed by Dr. Meron Benvenisti, is funded by the Rockefeller and Ford foundations and administered by The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. A continuously updated, computerized data base and its own research are the basis for the project's publications, including maps showing present and projected developments in the region.

This report is the survey compiled by the West Bank Data Base Project, during its five years of operation from 1982 to 1987. It draws heavily upon the retrieval system of the West Bank Data Base Project located in Jerusalem, which is in the public domain.

Israel's industrial geography is unique. The continuing Arab-Israeli conflict has been a primary force behind government intervention in settlement patterns, and has led to a major effort to disperse industry. The geopolitical situation has also encouraged a policy of attempted self-reliance, especially for defence purposes. These factors, combined with an abundant human capital, have given Israeli high-technology industries a special place in the international division of labour. The absorption of waves of mass immigration has influenced industrial development. Rural industrialisation, mainly by the Kibbutz (communal settlement) movement, is another unique feature. The Industrial Geography of Israel presents a comprehensive overview of industrial spatial development of Israel from the Ottoman era to present times, evaluating industrial dispersal policy, corporate geography, high-technology industries, entrepreneurship and rural industrial development. The spatial development of Israeli industry is set within the broader context of Israel's political and economic development and of global economic change, as well as theories of industrial location and regional planning and development.

"The best sustained analysis of the Intifada."--Charles Smith, author of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

A forceful, penetrating critique of the Oslo Accordsand their devastating aftermath.

This book focuses on labour dislocation and migration of Palestinians between 1967 and 1992. In particular, it highlights the social transformations in the occupied Palestinian territory where Palestinian labour was permitted to work in Israel from 1968 onwards. Elaborating on the results of the policy which saw a gradual increase in the number of Palestinian workers commuting daily from a negligible proportion of the actively participating labour force, to 35 percent of all employed persons, and 60 percent of all wage paid workers, the book studies this unique case which embodies characteristics from permanent migration situations not only in the de-jure, but also the de-facto sense; insofar as it embeds higher risks and reallocates resources as if it was a permanent relocation scenario. Illustrated with tables and econometric results, the book identifies the determinants and implications of migrant labour from the West Bank using two broad methodologies: the neoclassical and the historical-structural method. Each of these methods is divided into two branches: the classical divided into price determined and a choice-theoretic framework,and the historical-structural divided into dependency and Marxist theory. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation, all four perspectives are employed in the investigation. In doing so, what emerges is a structure for the book which takes shape along the different lines of migration literature. The book provides new insights into the making of wage labour and labour migration theory.