HONG KONG ON THE WEST BANK: Jerry Pournelle has this suggestion:

Imagine that Israel draws a boundary, and expels all the Palestinians from within it; we hope with compensation. What’s outside is now Palestine.

The world gives Palestine a present: the Brits get to run it, rule of law, police, courts, exactly as they ran Hong Kong. This will go for 25 years after which there will be an election.

No taxes: the government is paid for by the international community. There can be some money for infrastructure but again the Brits administer all this.

Think of Hong Kong 1950 and again in 1975. Palestine would be richer than socialist high tax Israel.

Of course it won’t happen.

Of course not. Who wants to be rich, free and at peace? No warlords do, that’s for sure.

UPDATE: A dissatisfied reader writes:

I’m actually kind of tired of the use of Hong Kong (or Singapore) as the representative model of colonialism. The Brits DID have Palestine, and they did nothing but help screw it up. I would expect Jerry to have a better grasp of history.

Well, not every place can be Singapore or Hong Kong — can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, after all.