ECONOMIC INTERACTIONS AMONG PARTICIPANTS IN THE MIDDLE-EAST PEACE PROCESS

The geographical trade pattern and the trade policies of the six partn ers in the Arab-Israeli peace process, namely, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian Territories, suggest that the scop e for expanding trade among them is rather limited. The weak tendency of the Arab members of the group to trade among themselves indicates t hat it is not the state of hostilities that existed between most of th em and Israel that hindered intra-regional trade. Their relatively hig h tendency to trade with a Middle Eastern country outside the group, n amely, Turkey, also suggests that the low level of intra-regional trad e cannot be attributed to poor trade policies. The markets for Middle East exports lie outside the region. But because the distances between them are negligible, the triad Israel-Jordan-Palestinian Territories has, nevertheless, the potential of developing considerable border-typ e trade, as well as various types of joint ventures.