Following the one month anniversary of the Israeli-Palestinian cease- fire, the Israeli economy is starting to show serious signs of improvement, senior government sources told The Jerusalem Post.

"Early indicators such as lowered interest rates, a healthy stock exchange, Israelis going abroad and tourists coming in and the implementation of the emergency economic plan all point to positive movement," the source said.

Government officials warn that it is still premature to judge in the most solid terms whether the "hudna" or cease-fire is truly having a long-range impact on the economy. Sources point out that foreign investors are watching the situation here very closely and know the distinction between political sound bytes and reality on the ground.

"In the past month, there have been 167 Palestinian terrorist attacks which have been prevented by the IDF and security forces," the source said. "The investor in New York, London or Paris knows that it only takes one successful attack to get through which would bring us back to the economic situation we had before the cease-fire. If one only read the newspaper headlines, one would think that Palestinian terrorism has ceased - and that simply is not true."

The source in Jerusalem concludes: "the investors are basically doing the same thing that the Prime Minister and Defense Minister are doing - waiting for Palestinian PM Mazan to take real steps, not verbiage, in three areas. Putting an end to racial incitement, stopping the Kassam missile tests off Gaza and destroying the terrorist infrastructure with the arrests of those opposed to the peace process and the confiscation of their weapons in the West Bank and Gaza." (© 1995-2003, The Jerusalem Post 07/31/03)