According to BDI a member of the International Coface group 46,000 businesses have shut down since Hamas invasion on Oct. 7 amid ongoing the war in Gaza
Construction, agriculture and services sectors are reportedly hit hardest
Here are some highlights about the report:
As many as 60,000 businesses will shut down in 2024,
“There is effectively no sector in the economy that is immune to the repercussions of the ongoing war,”
About 77 percent of the businesses that were forced to close since the beginning of the war are small businesses.
Fundraising by Israeli businesses slumped already at the beginning of 2023 as the economy grappled with a global downturn and local political uncertainty around the proposed judicial overhaul.
56% of the respondents to a survey by BDI reported that they experienced a decline in their turnover.
The economic fallout from the ongoing war was most immediately felt by businesses active in the construction, agriculture, tourism, hospitality, and entertainment sectors.
Because 85,000 Palestinian workers deserted Israel’s construction industry since the war’s start many building sites had to shut down completely due to a lack of workers.
“Agriculture and the construction industry suffers from a severe shortage of manpower causing significant delays of projects and in the handover of apartments.
Turkey’s move earlier this year to boycott all trade with Israel has left importers of construction material – aluminum, plastics, and cement products – for the local industry seeking alternative supply sources and substitutes, that are more expensive due to higher production and transportation costs.
Before the move, Israeli businesses were looking to grow imports from Turkey, as the attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants are disrupting maritime trade, fueling shipping costs and making goods from China and the Far East far more expensive.
Following the Turkey boycott, there is also concern that other countries will follow with similar moves as importers are looking for alternative suppliers from other countries
A decline in consumer spending, the lack of tourism, and the mass evacuations from war-affected areas in the north and south of Israel have hit businesses in the trade and services sector, including leisure businesses, as well as cafes and restaurants
52% of of the companies reported that they didn’t get assistance at all from the government
The day after Gaza
The cost of the war in Gaza so far exceeded $67 Billion and there is no end in sight for the war as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu continues to obstruct truce talks by making new demands every time the mediators were close to a deal
President Biden in a an interview last month said it was reasonable for people to conclude that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war in Gaza for his political benefit.
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Biden told Time magazine in interview . “There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”
Biden noted that before Israel’s war with Hamas began in October, Netanyahu was facing criticism for pushing judicial reforms that would reduce checks and balances.
“And so it’s an internal domestic debate that seems to have no consequence,” Biden said. “And whether he would change his position or not, it’s hard to say, but it has not been helpful.”
Biden said his major disagreement with Netanyahu over the war is about what would happen when it ends.
Biden has supported a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, but Netanyahu has opposed such an idea. While Netanyahu has said Israeli occupation is not the solution, he has not proposed an alternate vision for the “day after” the war.
Israeli military strikes in Gaza have killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children and the people in Gaza have been without adequate access to food, water and medicine.
Netanyahu has faced mounting criticism from the U.S. and other countries over its handling of the war as the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza and as civilian deaths mount.
Biden in June laid out a three-phase peace plan that would wind down fighting between Israel and Hamas and allow for the rebuilding of Gaza but Netanyahu said the war should continue until Hamas is completely destroyed.
One thing is certain, the people in Gaza, the Palestinians have suffered greatly, for lack of food, water, medicine, etc. And a lot of innocent people have been killed,” Biden told Time.
Biden reportedly told Netanyahu right after the October 7 attack by Hamas “don’t make the same mistake we did going after bin Laden. ” “Don’t try— the idea of occupying Afghanistan, the idea that you had nuclear arsenals in Iraq, that were being generated, simply not true. And it led to endless wars. They were not true. Don’t make the mistakes we made. And they’re making that mistake, I think.”
Netanyahu’s speech to a fraction of the US Congress on Wednesday was meant to rally American sentiments in his favor; instead, it showed how much he is out of touch with reality
Source : Times of Israel/ BDI
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