The protracted Arab-Israeli conflict has adversely affected the economic, social, and political development in the Middle East. In spite of the centrality of political considerations, it is important to look at the potential for trade and other transactions between the countries from a purely economic point of view. In this thesis candidates for trade in agricultural commodities between Syria and Israel are identified, assuming a normalization of relations between these two countries. / The history of trade in the region, from the Roman Empire to the present time is described and analyzed with an emphasis on Israel and Syria. This is followed by an examination of relative resource endowments, and political, economic, and social development, with special attention to the agricultural and food sectors. / Border trade analysis is used as a method for identifying commodities that are candidates for trade between Israel and Syria. In general, the method presumes that commodities that are sensitive to distance will be candidates for trade between neighboring countries. This sensitivity is assessed by an examination of border trade in a commodity compared to total trade in the same commodity, using data from a sample of countries. Commodities that tend to be traded between neighbors compared to between distant partners are assumed to have potential for trade between Israel and Syria. / The results of the analysis yielded 10 agricultural commodities (SITC three digit level) that are likely to be traded between Israel and Syria. Moreover, the possible direction of trade in these commodities could also be identified.

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