Gaza war destabilizes Israel economy
Two Israeli reporters, Dov Trachtman and Noam Bedein from Sderot has accounted parts of the Israeli economic losses incurred due to the Palestinian rocket firing campaign in an article in ibtimes.co.uk.Facts of their article follow:
- On 29 July 2014 the Israeli economy website Calcalist estimated the damages and expenses incurred during 'Operation Protective Edge' to have reached 7 billion shekels. That's around £1.2bn, or just over $2bn - a huge amount of money for Israel. And the conflict has raged for a further six days (and counting) since that estimate was published.
- Israel's industrial sector has been particularly badly affected. According to the Industrialists Union, the damage to the Israeli industry is estimated at around £140m, and several factories have been battered by rocket fire.
- Thousands of local businesses have been affected - the conflict has opened up wounds left by the previous conflicts, and a huge cross-section of Israel has been affected.
- In the wake of previous operations, government ministries, with the lead of the Ministry of Finance, created compensation programs and aid for local businesses and municipalities that suffered during the operation. This aid has provided vital support; yet it has been unable to paper over the enormous financial cracks created by the constant attacks from Gaza.
- Danny Dahan, a retail store owner in Sderot, close to the Gaza: "This war has resulted in mental, cultural and economic instability."
- According to Danny, "the economic damage is triply interwoven among suppliers, customers and employees. The suppliers are stressed and afraid to get hurt, so they don't deliver supplies. When we don't have supplies the customers are disappointed, they don't buy, and go to a different place to shop. The cash flow is severely hurt, which impairs our ability to pay the suppliers."
- "The war created a 'system breakdown', and through the years we have had no choice but to learn how to live with it."
- Like in Sderot, people are afraid to relax for a second, and a vicious circle has developed.
- Despite government helps, it's hard to estimate how quickly Sderot, Ashdod and the surrounding area will recover from the conflict. Given the high unemployment rate and low family incomes, even during routine times, residents in this area barely sustain themselves.
- A complete damage assessment can only be made after the escalation ends, but there is no doubt that many individuals and families will find themselves without a workplace, without an income, and with huge debts.