1/1/2024–|Last updated: 1/1/202401:23 PM (Mecca time)
The American newspaper The Washington Post said that it may seem inappropriate now to assess the escalating financial cost of the Israeli war on… GazaWhile bombs are still raining on the besieged Strip, and at a time when hundreds of Palestinians are being killed every day, along with smaller, but unprecedented, numbers of Israeli deaths.
Despite the above, the economic factors behind the Israeli aggression that has been ongoing for weeks have – according to the newspaper – strong consequences for Israel, the Palestinians, and the Middle East region.
Although the losses suffered by Gaza are “heavy”, they have not yet begun to be counted. Half of the buildings and two-thirds of homes in the Strip were damaged or destroyed, 1.8 million people were displaced and more than 21,000 killed, according to the Strip’s Ministry of Health.
Worse than Corona
As for the Israeli economy, it was also damaged by the war – according to the newspaper – and some economists compare the shock to which this economy was exposed to the Corona virus pandemic in 2020, but others say that the shock this time may be worse.
The newspaper reported that government spending and borrowing in Israel have increased, while tax revenues have decreased, and the credit rating may in turn be affected by the repercussions of the war that followed the attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation) on October 7 last year.
She added that some experts expect the Israeli economy to contract, with the expected GDP falling from 3% in 2023 to 1% in 2024, according to the Central Bank of Israel.
It considered the impact of the war on the high-tech sector in Israel, which is the engine of its economy, to be worrying.
Big money
The Washington Post reported – in its report – that Israel is spending huge amounts of money on deploying 220,000 reserve soldiers on average during the past three months.
She continued that many of these reservists are high-tech workers in the areas of the Internet, agriculture, finance, navigation, artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals and climate-related solutions.
She pointed out that the technology sector in Israel depends on foreign investment, which had been dwindling even before the war, partly because investors were concerned about the state of instability resulting from the actions of the Prime Minister’s government. Benjamin Netanyahu Right-wing.
The costs are not limited to paying the salaries of reserve forces and the price of bombs and bullets – according to the newspaper – but Israel also supports 200,000 people who were evacuated from Israeli villages along the Gaza border and the northern border with Lebanonwhich he bombs Hizb allah Daily.
The authorities were forced to house and feed many of these forces in hotels in northern and southern Israel at government expense. Many of them are psychologically traumatized, and many are also without work.
Tourism disruption
Tourism was also disrupted, and beaches became empty Tel Aviv And the old town in Jerusalem Empty of foreigners, and Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem in the West Bank were cancelled.
Construction work, which usually relies on Palestinian labor, has also stopped West Bank. Exports declined in all sectors, and Israeli gas fields in the Mediterranean were closed early in the war, but are now operating at part of their capacity, the newspaper confirms.
Calcalist, an economic newspaper published in the city of Rishon LeZion, south of Tel Aviv, expects that Israel’s losses may reach $50 billion if the war continues for another 5 to 10 months, an amount equivalent to 10% of the country’s gross domestic product.
What is the importance of American aid?
The Washington Post answers this question by saying that this aid is extremely important to Israel, as the United States provides it with military support worth $3.8 billion annually. The two countries also exchange defense technology with the aim of giving Israel a strategic advantage over its opponents.
She says that the White House is pushing an additional funding bill that includes $14 billion in aid to Israel in early 2024, but the project has stalled because Congress is busy discussing funding for the southern US border.
