It's Palestine's Turn to Get Mad at Romney

Culture and economic comparisons between Israel and Palestine draw criticism.

A three-nation foreign expedition envisioned as a relatively low-key endeavor took its second major turn toward controversy Monday when Mitt Romney spoke at a Jerusalem fundraiser about the role culture plays in the relative strengths of the economies of Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Addressing a small crowd of American citizens at the King David Hotel, Romney noted that during his business career he had been interested in the economic disparities among nations.

"As you come here and you see the GDP per capita for instance in Israel, which is about $21,000, and you compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice a dramatic, stark difference in economic vitality," he said. "And that is also between other countries that are near or next to each other."