Milton Friedman’s 1969 commentary on the West Bank

“Much to my surprise, there was almost no sign of a military presence…I had no feeling whatsoever of being in occupied territory…This wise policy [of the Israelis] involved almost literal laissez-faire in the economic sphere…To a casual observer, the area appears to be prospering.”

That is from Friedman’s “Invisible Occupation.” Newsweek column, May 5, 1969, reprinted in There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch: Essays on Public Policy. La Salle, Illinois: Open Court Press, 1975, pp.298-99.

That is cited in an old paper of mine on the economics of international conflict, with reference to the Middle East.  See my related earlier post, “Why Don’t People Have More Sex?“