Jerusalem The construction and real estate sector in Israel was completely paralyzed as a result of the war on Gaza, and the suspension of work permits for Palestinians from West Bank AndGaza strip Until further notice, this has caused huge losses to construction and real estate companies, in addition to the losses of insurance companies due to vehicle damage, damage to private property, and compensation to small and medium-sized commercial interests.
According to data from the “Balad Builders Contractors Union”, there are 11,600 construction sites in Israel and about 168,000 housing units under construction, in addition to other infrastructure projects, as the volume of investments in the construction sector in Israel last year amounted to 232.2 billion shekels ($60 billion). ), equivalent to 13.6% of GDP.
Construction and real estate companies in southern Israel have been suffering since the start of the operation “Al-Aqsa flood“Which was launched by the Palestinian resistance, led by the Al-Qassam Brigades, against the occupation army in the Gaza Strip on October 7, due to the interruption of revenues due to the cessation of work in construction workshops, and the failure to conclude new deals to sell residential apartments, amid fears of the collapse of real estate companies, and a threat to financial assets. Buyers of residential apartments, according to a report by the Israeli economic newspaper “Marker”.
A severe blow to the south
The newspaper quoted Rachel Roth, director of the analysis department at Dunn & Bradstreet, as saying, “There was a lot of construction work in the southern region before the war. In Sderot, Ashkelon, Ofakim, and Nativot, which were subjected to severe strikes recently, about 20,000 housing units were built in the four years.” Last”.
She added that the war stopped all construction activities, and the real estate market and construction workshops were paralyzed.
According to the newspaper Ranit Nahum Halevy, the Israeli public is currently preoccupied with matters of war, and the uncertainty is great, so there is no demand to buy apartments.
For his part, President of the Country Builders Contractors Union, Raoul Sarjo, expressed his fear of a comprehensive collapse of construction and real estate companies in the country that depend primarily on 90,000 Palestinian workers, noting that many construction companies are now without cash flow, which means that the construction sector is in crisis. A deplorable situation, according to what was reported by Haaretz newspaper.
Paralysis by construction
In an effort to get out of the state of paralysis that struck the construction and real estate sector, the Israeli government is considering a plan to bring in about 20,000 foreign workers, in light of the severe labor shortage due to the ban on Palestinian workers.
The approval to bring in foreign workers comes despite the reservations of the Israeli Ministry of the Interior, as the Director General of the Population, Immigration and Border Crossings Authority in the Ministry, Eyal Sisso, explained that “since the start of the war, 3,784 foreign workers in the construction branch have left Israel, in addition to 20,000 Palestinian workers who hold permits.” They are not allowed to enter Israel.”
Compensation costs are rising
As the war enters its second month, the costs of compensation for war damage are increasing and continuing to rise, according to what was reported by the Israeli economic newspaper “Calcalist”, which reported, quoting responsible authorities in the Ministry of Finance, that the special compensation fund has begun to empty of the money it contains, which was estimated at 18. One billion shekels ($4.6 billion).
The newspaper pointed out that the cost of the compensation plan approved by the Knesset a few days ago is 15 billion shekels ($3.8 billion) for two months, and with the expansion of the scope of compensation to towns 40 kilometers away from Gaza, an additional budget estimated at about 3 billion shekels ($770 million) will be allocated. dollar).
As for losses in the insurance companies and vehicles branch, it is expected that the number of civilian vehicles damaged so far since the beginning of the war will exceed 10,000 vehicles, according to insurance company estimates. According to property tax data, during the month of October, about 6,000 claims were filed for compensation for damage to vehicles due to the war, including 4,130 claims in Ashkelon, 1,790 in Tel Aviv, 56 in Haifa, and 19 in Tiberias.
However, this data, according to the monitoring of the “Globes” economic newspaper, does not include thousands of vehicles that were damaged in the “Gaza envelope” settlements during the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, as compensation claims have not yet been filed and initiated for various reasons.
It is estimated that the damage to insurance companies and the property tax authority on these vehicles may amount to more than 400 million shekels (more than $100 million).
