Economic Challenges and Opportunities for Israel and the Palestinians

The global recession has presented a daunting challenge to governments everywhere, including that of Israel. Nonetheless, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said that waging "economic peace" will be a central component of his relationship with the Palestinians. His intention is to improve the West Bank economy as a supplement -- not a substitute -- for progress on the diplomatic front of the peace process.

To discuss Israel's domestic economic challenges and the prospects for Israeli efforts to strengthen the West Bank economy, The Washington Institute invited Israeli finance minister Yuval Steinitz to address a special Policy Forum.

Yuval Steinitz was appointed Israel's minister of finance in March 2009 and has been a Likud member of the Knesset since 1999. A professor of philosophy by training, he has chaired the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and served on the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee as well as the Science and Technology Committee. Since 2003, he has cochaired, together with U.S. Senator John Kyl (R-AZ), the joint U.S. Congress-Knesset Security Committee.