Israeli economy plunges almost 20% as Gaza war takes heavy toll
Israel's economy shrank by far more than expected in the final quarter of last year in the wake of the war on the besieged Gaza Strip, marking sharpest contraction since the pandemic. | Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics said in a statement that economy plunged 19.4% in the final three months of 2023, as significant resources were diverted to the regime’s military engagement in the war on the coastal sliver. That is the equivalent of a fall of 5% between October and December. ● According to British daily business newspaper the Financial Times, the significant downturn in Israel’s economy was partially due to mobilizing 300,000 reservists, who abandoned their jobs and businesses for extended presence in the military. ● Other factors involved the Tel Aviv regime’s funding housing for over 120,000 settlers, who left the northern and southern regions of the 1948-occupied territories close to the border with the Gaza Strip.