Peace in the Middle East - again

In the final chapter of How Israel Lost, Richard Ben Cramer explains how the men in authority, in both Israel and the occupied territories, benefit financially from the conflict. Talking about why he had mistakenly predicted peace, he goes on:

What I didn't see, or failed to think about, was the breakup of Israel's national consensus. ... What Israel lost—apparently while I looked elsewhere—was precisely the capcity to act in the national interest. The interest of the nation was replaced by tribal interests-and, in a lot of cases I see now, by purely indiviudal interest. Making money for instance....

Cramer ends his book on a pessimistic note. My take is that evidence he presents of collusion between the principals at the highest levels (for instance, over the casino near Jericho), is actually a cause for optimism. The underlying principle of Social Policy Bonds, is that financial incentives can be channelled into social goals. If the Middle East conflict is at least in part caused by financial self-interest, then it can be ended by financial self-interest. Middle East Peace Bonds would be non-interest bearing bonds redeemable for a fixed sum only when the conflict has subsided. If the governments involved, or the United Nations, won't issue them, then maybe it's time for philanthropists or non-governmental organisations to do so.