A reluctant, barely visible ray of light has begun to penetrate the ruins of the peace process over the past few weeks, gently illuminating the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians. Two people can be credited for that: Israel’s Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Palestinian Finance Minister Shukri Bishara. On Feb. 18, the two men met for the third time, and Kahlon will soon be presenting a bundle of economic measures that will benefit the Palestinian public. It is hoped that this package will generate a change of mood on the ground, tempering perhaps the cycle of difficult events that continue to unfold, including the wave of terror by individuals, which will soon mark six months since it began. So far, the casualties in this current round of violence have included 30 Israelis, a foreign resident from Eritrea and a Palestinian from Hebron, not to mention more than 200 Palestinian terrorists, most of them very young.

“I will not be the one to bring peace, and I am not dealing with the diplomatic process,” Kahlon told Al-Monitor in January. “On the other hand, I think that it is possible to advance economic issues and help change the lives of the Palestinians. This is not some lofty goal. It’s entirely possible. There can be much better, more effective economic ties between us and them, and this, in turn, may help break the deadlock, increase trust and change the overall mood.”

Kahlon has put quite a bit of thought into this effort and considerable means as well. On Feb. 21, Israel’s Channel 10 reported that he will soon be putting the finishing touches on a package of economic measures, which he will then present to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is subsequently expected to proudly show off these measures to the Americans and Europeans. It has been a long time since the prime minister first made a commitment to US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry that Israel would take a series of steps to improve the lives of the Palestinians, but he never kept his promise. Efforts to allow Palestinians to build in West Bank Area C (under full Israeli control) were thwarted by the right-wing base of his coalition, while other initiatives also came to naught. Given the current mood in Israel, which is confounded by this new wave of terrorism, it is now impossible to make any diplomatic gestures. There is a vacuum, and Kahlon has been sucked into it. Even if there can be no diplomatic gestures, there can at least be economic ones.

Read the article in full at Al-Monitor.