One high-ranking Israeli official who arranged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Israel recently told me, "Israel will be a technological superpower in the next twenty to thirty years and its neighboring countries will be economically dependent on us." Whether he was too optimistic or not, there is no denying that the neighboring Arab countries as well as the Palestinian Territory are now dependent on Israel as far as their economies are concerned.

The war-torn Gaza has been more hurt by the Israeli economic blockade and the closure of checkpoints connecting the territory to Israel than by Israeli bombardments in the last few days. We hear reports of economic difficulties from Gaza: rotten vegetables, electricity breakdowns and problems at schools throughout the region. There is no coincidence that Palestinians become poorer the farther away they are from Israeli cities. East Jerusalemites are considerably better off than Arabs in the West Bank, who are in turn much better off than Gazans.

No nation can beat its neighboring bullies as long as it is economically much inferior. The lofty-sounding principles can not feed the population. Hamas leaders must face the reality. They will not be unpopular among ordinary Palestinians. People respect Hamas because they regard the organization as anti-corruption, disciplined and committed to the people. In return, Israel can give back the deprived electricity, trade and other economic activities which will promote employment and improve education opportunities that are to be ultimately Palestinians' weapons in the near future.