Some readers often ask me why I do not write specifically about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In response I explain how there are so many bloggers already out there, each with their own agenda. Another one will not make a difference.

That said, just recently, I have come across a series of financial and social issues that are out of the ordinary – certainly, unexpected – and deserve wider review.

1) Investing in Palestine: As the UN Assembly meets and President Abbas implores the world to support his cause against Israel, I recently questioned who is actually investing in the emerging Palestinian economy. The bottom line is that the Arab block, who Abbas says wants to recognise Israel, transfers relatively few funds towards its favourite political project. Most of Ramallah’s joint ventures are with ……Israel.

2) Israel’s economy and the global recession: At a time when America is struggling to maintain its economic momentum and the UK may finally be seeing an initial emergence from a deep recession, Israel’s finances appear to be under control. The stock market  is beginning to perform and public expenditure is finally in check. Growth predictions for 2014 have been raised to 3.4%.

3) The level of aid for the Palestinian economy: It is well established that the Palestinian economy is bolstered by aid received from large international agencies. One recent report calculates that “the Palestinian people, have received per capita, adjusted for inflation, 25 times more aid than did Europeans to rebuild war-torn Western Europe under the Marshall plan after the Second World War.” Much comes via UNRWA’s near US$1,000 million annual budget, a self-perpetuating black hole of Western taxpayer largesse.

4) The main beneficiaries of Israeli Arabic health care: About six months ago, Israel’s largest health fund released a series of training videos in Arabic for the local market. Over 90% of the million plus views have been registered to countries with no official relations with the Holy Land. So much a for a boycott of the Jewish state.

5) The main beneficiaries of Palestinian justice system: Amnesty International (AI) has just released a report condemning the Palestinian Authority (PA) for not allowing free political demonstrations. It is only a month since AI condemned Hamas in Gaza for its frequent use of executions, a horror confirmed by the BBC. When one considers that the Palestinian Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling has documented 25 honour killings so far in 2013, it has to be asked: Why does the Palestinian system demand political and social justice from Israel but does not apply the same principles for its own people?

6) What Egypt and Syria are teaching others:   The Arab Spring, the revolting pictures emerging from Syria, the Islamic-Marxist rule in Iran and more have challenged a vital core part of Western thinking for decades. Until now, it was accepted that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the main core of distress in the region. Clearly, it is becoming evident that pressuring Israel into a peace deal will not bring overall peace to the Middle East. Well done Assad and co for highlighting the unspeakable.

7) Not worth visiting? So with all these trouble points and instability, who would visit Israel today? Well for the first eight months of 2013, 2.13 million tourists were recorded. That figure continues the upward record trend over the past three years.