Cost of Peace in Israel: A Staggering $250 Billion and Growing
“Cursed be he that taketh a bribe to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say: Amen.” (Deuteronomy 27:25)
An Israeli man carries an injured woman from the scene of the 1997 terror attack in downtown Jerusalem. (Photo: Flash90)
The 1993 Oslo Peace Accords, which were meant to bring stability to Israel and save money and lives, have actually cost the country 933 billion NIS (over $250 billion) and more than 1,000 human casualties. Meanwhile, the peace that was promised is nowhere to be seen.
Israel National News reported on a study done by the Likud’s Jewish Leadership faction, led by MK Moshe Feiglin.
Feiglin first looked into the cost of the Accords about a year ago, in response to campaign statements by the Yesh Atid party claiming the settlement movement was costing the government a disproportionate amount of money. At the time, Feiglin estimated the added state costs of implementing the Oslo Accords was 453 billion NIS. Even he was surprised by the results of the current study.
The study accounted for the following added financial burdens:
Transfers of funds to the Palestinian Authority – 88 billion NIS.
Added costs to Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) – 37 billion NIS.
Added costs to the IDF – 300 billion NIS.
Costs to Ministry of Public Security (police) and damage from massive car thefts – 105 billion NIS.
Hiring of civilian security guards all over Israel – 220 billion NIs.
Construction of separation fence around territory handed over to the Palestinian Arabs – 4.7 billion NIS.
Loss in tourism revenues during peak years of terror – 150 billion NIS.
Cost of evicting Jews from Katif Bloc – 9.5 billion NIS.
The study also attempted to evaluate the monetary cost of injury and loss of life stemming from the increased levels of terror experienced since the signing of the Accords. Although a human life cannot be assigned a price, it was estimated the country lost 12 billion NIS in lifetime productivity from and National Insurance payments to victims and their families.
Michael Fuah, head of the Jewish Leadership faction’s R&D department, said, “A comparison of the 17 years that preceded Oslo to the 19 years after it began shows that from 1977 to 1993, 357 Israelis were murdered in terror attacks, whereas from 1994 to 2012, 1,159 were murdered. In other words – the Oslo accord not only failed to bring peace – it clearly and directly caused a threefold growth of the number of murdered terror victims.”
The faction’s report on the study suggested it would have been more cost-effective to offer the entire Palestinian population financial incentives to repatriate to surrounding Arab countries, maintaining them at their current standard of living for up to fifty years. It further recommends extending Israeli sovereignty to the entire area in question, increasing settlement activity and isolating the Palestinian population there.
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/15483/cost-oslo-peace-accords-staggering-250-billion-growing/#owBhG28OdGHQgwyl.99
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