the Palestinian Authority will have positive political implications from Israel's perspective: the level of hostility will be reduced, zealotry will retreat and the desire for cooperation will increase. It has been proved many times over that peace is good for business.http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH07nx0"He who tills the land shall be satisfied with bread..." (Proverbs 12:11) Israel attained the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate among Western (OECD) economies during 1990-96, averaging almost 6 percent during these years. In 1997 this fell to 1.90 percent. Its per capita GDP (today some $16,950), places it 21st among 200 countries in the world. Although a small country (population some 5.9 million), Israel's international position in some areas of industrial and agricultural production capacity and exports is remarkable. Free trade agreements with Europe (the European Union and European Free Trade Association) and the United States facilitate Israel's $32.5 billion of exports (goods and services, 1997) and its participation in international business enterprises, contributing to the country's accelerated growth during the 1990-96 period.The shekel, Israel's unit of currency, (valued at $0.25 in September 1998), was known as early as the second millennium BCE as a unit of weight for means of payment in gold and silver. It is recorded in the Bible that Abraham negotiated the purchase of a field "and the cave that was therein," at Machpela (near Hebron), saying: "I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there." Ephron, the landowner, replied: "The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver...and Abraham weighed to Ephron... four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant" (Genesis 23:13, 15-17).http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00m50'An Economic Miracle' For the first 25 years, the economy reached a striking average growth rate in the GDP of about 10...
