<The report overview included five paragraphs on the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the region. In addition to stunting Palestinian development, it said, Israeli occupation provides most Arab states with “both a cause and an excuse for distorting the development agenda, disrupting national priorities and retarding political development.

“At certain junctures it can serve to solidify the public against an outside aggressor and justify curbing dissent. ... In all these ways, occupation freezes growth, prosperity and freedom in the Arab world.”



Of course, this distraction from their internal problems is a major reason why the Arab world originally created and encouraged the Palestinian "refugee" problem, and will do little or nothing to fix it. The other reason is that the Palestinians make ideal cannon fodder to throw at Israel, which saves a lot of lives and money in other Arab nations.