luc, CNBC Indonesia
Tuesday, 10/31/2023 09:55 WIB
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Hundreds of influential Israeli economists warned the government that it must make major economic changes quickly, including reopening the state budget, as the war enters its fourth week.
A letter released Monday by the Israel Economists Forum calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich “to stand up and begin responding to the grave challenges facing Israel’s economy.”
More than 200,000 Israelis, mostly from the south, were forced to emigrate because of the war with Hamas. This is a huge cost that is not accounted for in the current government budget.
Instead, economists want Israel to take the unprecedented step of reopening its 2024 budget, which was passed in May, after fierce political wrangling.
“If there are expenditures in the budget that are not related to the war, or the need for reconstruction, then those expenditures should be rethought,” said Itai Ater of the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University, who chairs the Israel Economists Forum, as reported by CNBC InternationalTuesday (31/10/2023).
Then there was the impact of the war itself, including the 360,000 reservists called up for duty, which made up more than 10% of Israel’s workforce. Much of the country’s economy has shut down due to fighting, labor shortages and the national mood.
The letter also warned “Israel has suffered a devastating blow that requires a fundamental shift in national priorities and a massive reallocation of funds to address the extensive war damage, the need to support victims, and rebuild Israel’s economy.”
Fighting is now taking place right in Gaza and Israel is attacking from land, air and sea. This began after the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history on October 7, when Hamas militants breached Israel’s southern barrier killing 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages.
Since then, Israel has also come under fire, albeit on a smaller scale, on its northern borders with Lebanon and Syria.
Watch the video below:
Video: 9,521 People Killed, Gaza Is Increasingly ‘Dying’
(luc/luc)
2023-10-31 02:55:00
#Israels #War #Weapon #Economy #Collapse
