Editorial
Some searches are easier than others: as it ensues from this issue
of the Journal, those striving for regional cooperation in our area
do so in a political environment that places formidable
difficulties in the way of searchers. This is most vividly
illustrated in the interviews with Israeli Minister of Regional
Cooperation, Shimon Peres, and Palestinian Minister for Planning
and Cooperation, Nabil Sha'ath. Peres stresses that peace requires
"a Middle East integrated in the modern global economy [and]
regional cooperation in order to create a modern regional
infrastructure benefiting all the peoples of the Middle East."
Sha'ath responds that instead of substituting dreams for reality,
"you have to carry out the simple task of withdrawing from our
country… We cannot talk of regionalism if our people cannot
move freely… We should totally forget the dreams of any
regional improvement until the political process achieves its
results." Some Arabs are frightened of Israeli economic hegemony
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