While Americans suffer from rising prices, and analysts are warning of an imminent recession, the Jewish state is managing to maintain growing prosperity. This despite the fact that it is heading toward the fifth election in four years and facing a surge of terrorism—not to mention the graver threats from a near-nuclear Iran. Matthew Winkler writes:

Israel’s perennial headlines obscure a greater reality, which is that the Mideast nation of nine million is an economic juggernaut. It has the fastest growth and one of the lowest rates of inflation and joblessness. On top of that, the shekel is the world’s best-performing currency among the 31 that trade actively and the only one that strengthened against the dollar the past decade.

Unlike any of the 34 developed economies, Israel is poised to achieve 5.2-percent gross domestic-product growth in 2022, 3.5-percent in 2023, and 3.5-percent in 2024, according to more than a dozen forecasts compiled by Bloomberg. With unemployment at 3.5 percent and inflation at 4.3 percent (around half the annualized rate for the U.S. and European Union) Israel is proving to be the benchmark not only for stability, but for innovation as well.

From auto parts to medical-equipment solutions to food, water, and climate change, technology made in Israel is transforming the world’s biggest industries. This hub of innovation includes Mobileye Global Inc., the creator of vision-based driver assistance systems for 50 car makers, or 70 percent of the global market. Mobileye recently filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering valuing the Intel Inc. unit at as much as $30 billion. Also, there’s Nanox Imaging Ltd., serving governments, hospitals, and clinics with cloud-based image analysis, online diagnosis, and billing services while developing a 3D medical-imaging device; [and] Innoviz Technologies Ltd., the maker of light-detection ranging (Lidar) sensors and perception software for autonomous driving.

Yesterday, President Biden reportedly met with his advisers to discuss how to achieve a breakthrough in hostage negotiations. Meir Ben Shabbat takes a closer look at what the terrorists themselves are saying:

Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s deputy chief in Gaza, reiterated that this issue is merely one of several demands his group has put forward as conditions for a deal. “We stress that any agreement must encompass a full cessation of hostilities, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing [which allow Hamas to smuggle weapons and supplies from Egypt], unimpeded return of displaced persons to their homes, aid and relief for Palestinians, Gaza’s reconstruction, and a prisoner exchange,” al-Hayya stated.

This stance isn’t new. What stood out in its presentation was the self-assurance displayed by the senior Hamas official, during a week when he and his associates were expected to be on edge, fearing repercussions for the killing of six hostages. However, the reaction to this in Israel and the United States prompted an opposite response from them. From their perspective, not only did they avoid consequences for the heinous act, but through it, they managed to escalate tensions and internal disagreements in Israel, while also prompting Washington to consider presenting a framework defined as a “final offer, without room for negotiation.

Hamas assumes that a final American proposal will inevitably come at Israel’s expense. The primary pressure to reach an agreement is already being applied to Israeli leadership. Hamas faces no consequences for prolonging the process, and so long as it holds hostages, it can always resume negotiations from where they left off.