Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 17)
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- Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 17)
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_—_—UlUlmlmlt””””OC~™ 24
of the area and a description
ry
of the political histo ;
s of economic
i i the proces:
of various institutions bearing on
development.
F ansformations
; 5 social and cultural trans.
on the historical,
naccurate. For example, not
Bull's views
are often sketchy, and sometimes 1!
categorical condemnation of workers
tudes of distaste
many would agree with her
in rural areas that they "have ingrained atti
; 1
for manual labour, even if it is of a technical nature." Her
are also questionable. She interprets Mosleas' spiritual conviction
that God is the ultimate Cause of change and Mover of man as
willingness to subscribe almost anything to the will of Allah."
In the researcher's opinion Moslems would consider this not only
a wrong conception, but also insulting.
Bull's review of West Bank agriculture is the book's weakest spot.
After she sums up change in West Bank agriculture during the
early years of occupation as "the beginnings of an agricultural revol
Post-67 weaknesses. Evidently, Bul) drew heavily on the opinions
businessmen and local officials.
25
Bull's analysis of economic viability is the best part of her book.
She describes at length the inherently ambiguous definition of
viability, and notes that:
"If economic viability refers to a basic independence of foreign aid,
then few developing nations would be considered to be economically
viable. If the term applies to the balance of payments deficit,
again few countries would be viable."
In the light of her argument on the noticeable ambiguity of viability
concepts and their intricate connection with several other variables,
Bull concludes that the West Bank (she makes no mention of Gaza
Strip) may prove economically viable but not independent.
Consequently, it will have to develop strong economic ties with
its neighbours, especially with Jordan and Israel. In the very
last paragraph of her book, Bull asserts that "the future of the
Middle East lies in the establishment of peaceful regional
development. A Palestinian region might be the first building
block in such a scheme."” That appears to be a call for establishing
a Palestinian state.
A less reserved view on the question of viability is expressed by
Tuma and Drabkin, and Oollard and Wilson. Tuma and Drabkin? have
embarked on the formidable task of outlining a blueprint for a
Palestinian state consisting of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They
argue that such a state could be made viable enough to support an
eventual population size of about three million. With the aid of
1. Ibid, p 12.
2. Ibid, p 152.
3. Elias Tuma and Haim D Drabkin, The Economic Case for Palestine
(London: Croom Helm, 1979). - تاريخ
- ١٩٨٢
- المنشئ
- Hisham Masoud Awartani
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