Some economic math

The GDP per capita in Israel in 2013 was about $38,000
The GDP per capita in Syria was about $5,000
The GDP per capita in Egypt was about $7,000
The GDP per capita in Jordan was about $6,000
The GDP in Lebanon was about $16,000
The GDP per capita of all surrounding Arab countries was thus around $34,000, i.e,, lower than Israel ($38,000)

How could this be? Israel is very poor in terms of natural resources and thus the question is even...