At the end of the Six Day War in 1967, Israel found itself in control of some one million Palestinians, with no definite idea about their future status.

Then Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan formed a policy to preserve normalcy in the territories through a mixture of economic inducements and a minimum of Israeli intervention.

The idea was that the local populace would be given the freedom to administer itself as it wished. Israel [unfortunately] made no attempt to reshape Palestinian culture.

It limited its supervision of the Arabic press in the territories to military and security matters and allowed the continued use in local schools of Jordanian text books filled with vile anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda.

Here is how the Palestinians living in the disputed territories suffered under Israeli rule between 1967 - 2000.

In the economic sphere:

Israel created significant employment for the Palestinians accounting for 35 percent of their workforce.

Almost 2,000 industrial plants were created under Israeli rule.

GNP expanded tenfold from $165 in 1968 to $1715 in 1991, more than that of Tunisias $1,440, Egypts $600, and Turkeys $1,630.

By 1999, Palestinian per-capita income was nearly double Syrias, more than four times Yemens and 10 percent higher than Jordans. Only the oil-rich Gulf states and Lebanon were more affluent.

In social welfare:

Mortality rates in the West Bank and Gaza fell by more than two-thirds between 1970 and 1990.

Life expectancy rose from 48 years in 1967 to 72 in 2000, compared with an average of 68 years for all the countries of the Middle East and North Africa..

Israeli medical programs reduced the infant mortality of 60 per 1000 live births in 1967 to 15 per 1000 in 2000. In Iraq the rate is 64, in Egypt 40, in Jordan 23, in Syria 22.

Under the systematic program of inoculation, childhood diseases like polio, whooping couch, tetanus, and measles were eradicated.

In the standard of living:

In 1986, 92.9 percent had electricity compared to 20.5 percent in 1967.

In 1986, 85 percent had running water in their dwellings compared to 16 percent in 1967.

In 1986, 83.5 percent had electric or gas ranges for cooking compared to 4 percent in 1967.

In education:

Number of school children grew by 102 percent, and the number of classes by 99 percent even though population grew by only 28 percent.

In 1967 when Israel acquired the disputed territories there was not a single university. Under Israeli rule seven were built boasting some 16,500 students.

Illiteracy rates dropped to 14 percent of adults over age 15, compared with 69 percent in Morocco, 61 percent in Egypt, 45 percent in Tunisia, and 44 percent in Syria.

This all took place under the ?wicked, cursed occupation!

Source: Commentary, July 2002. www.aijac.org.au/updates/Jul-02/180702.html