Not a Conflict Only: Potential for Digital Interaction between Israel and Palestine

Abstract

The acceleration of digitalization processes, caused, in particular, by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, makes it possible to more seriously consider new technologies as a tool for solving a number of socio-economic problems, both at the local and regional and, more broadly, global levels. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that today Israel, not being an exception, has become a participant in the process of involving digital technologies to solve government problems, and the study of such opportunities can become a new contribution to the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The agreements on cooperation between Israel and a number of Arab countries in the Middle East reached in 2020 contribute to increasing the degree of integration of this state into regional processes. The authors of the article set themselves the goal of demonstrating the opportunities that digital technologies open up to ensure interaction between the business communities of Israel and Palestine at the present stage, even in the context of the ongoing conflict. Among the materials, in addition to the collection of scientific classical proven literature of specialists in the Middle East, the authors used scientific and practical developments in the field of economics and crisis management, which made it possible to more accurately assess the situation and obtain reliable results. Among the methods, the authors used the method of decomposition of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the allocation of levels of digitalization and the subsequent construction of the concept of the possible use of digital interaction between the two countries. The result of the study was the development of their own multi-level concept for the development of such interaction, based both on their understanding of digital transformation processes and on the specifics of regional development processes. The central element of the concept developed by the authors of the article is the so-called interaction platforms (IP), which, in fact, being modern online platforms, de facto form a virtual space to ensure the interaction of the two communities in the economic, financial, educational, and social spheres. Thus, the article shows that digitalization makes it possible to overcome the existing barriers to economic development, especially for Palestine. It enables the business community of both countries to considerably reduce the significance of the current unfavorable geopolitical situation and intensify the economic component of bilateral relations. Moreover, the mechanisms we propose can operate in the context of an ongoing conflict, which is of paramount importance, since in this case there is a possibility of a gradual improvement in the economic situation in Palestine.