"Principal research for these studies was carried out ... under the direction of the RAND Health Center for Domestic and International Health Security and the Center for Middle East Public Policy (CMEPP)"--Preface.

Print copy has publication date 2005.

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction -- Building a successful Palestinian state -- Approach -- Defining success -- Conditions for success -- Security -- Governance -- Economic development -- Social well-being -- Cross-cutting issues: contiguity, permeability, and security -- Contiguity -- Permeability -- Security -- Key findings from the analyses -- Governance -- Internal security -- Demography -- Water -- Health -- Education -- Economic development -- Implementing these recommendations -- The arc: a formal structure for a Palestinian state -- The shape of Palestine -- Population density and options for growth -- Growth in Gaza -- Linking the cities -- Fostering "linear" growth -- New neighborhoods -- Costs and direct economic benefits of constructing the arc -- Social and political challenges of absorbing refugees -- Conclusion -- Achieving successful development -- Looking to the future.

The United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations -- along with Israel and the Palestinian Authority -- all officially support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. This book summarizes research conducted by the RAND Corporation from September 2002 to September 2004 to develop recommendations, based on rigorous analysis, about steps that Palestinians, Israel, the United States, and the international community could take to promote the success of a new state if it is established. The first study identified the requirements for a successful Palestinian state. The study team surveyed a broad array of political, economic, social, resource, and environmental challenges that a new Palestinian state would face. They also estimated the investment required over the first ten years of statehood to help ensure security, build infrastructure, and facilitate the success of the new state. The second study explored options for addressing the housing, transportation, and related infrastructure needs of a burgeoning Palestinian population. The study explicitly considered issues related to potential immigration to a new Palestinian state of a substantial number of diaspora Palestinian refugees. The research team developed initial cost estimates for implementing their recommendations. The cost estimates developed in these studies suggest that the funding necessary to implement RAND's recommendations is within the capacity of combined international resources and private investors. RAND's analyses assume a peace accord, but many of the recommendations in both studies could be implemented constructively prior to Palestinian independence. Readers in search of more information should consult the respective volumes: The RAND Palestinian State Study Team, Building a Successful Palestinian State, Santa Monica, Calif.: The RAND Corporation, MG-146-1-DCR, 2007; and Doug Suisman, Steven N. Simon, Glenn E. Robinson, C. Ross Anthony, and Michael Schoenbaum, The Arc: A Formal Structure for a Palestinian State, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, MG-327-1-GG, 2007.

Also available on the internet via WWW in PDF format.

Available on microfiche: Doc no. D-1 through D-10957. Print versions of D-1 through D-20558 available from RAND Distribution Customer Service (order@rand.org)

Print edition in English, with reverse text and added t.p. in Arabic.