Israel needs sanctions-proof economy – Netanyahu

The Israeli PM warned of declining international support and a potential end to US aid

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country must prepare to adapt its economy to global sanctions, citing declining international support and a potential end to US financial and military aid.

Public opinion toward Israel has grown increasingly negative amid the wars in Gaza and Iran. In the US, a recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs report recorded the country’s lowest favorability rating since its polling began in 1978, with a majority supporting reducing or ending military aid.

Last month, the UK announced a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband describing settlers as “terrorists” supported by Netanyahu’s government and accusing them of ethnically cleansing Palestinians. The same day, 11 other countries, including France, Spain, and Canada, joined Britain in a statement supporting the two-state solution and announcing plans to impose or consider restrictions on trade with the settlements.

“We must understand that there could be sanctions, including banking sanctions,” Netanyahu said in an interview aired on Israel’s Channel 10 on Friday.

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“We need to prepare an alternative economy capable of functioning by circumventing these sanctions,” he added, noting that blockchain technology, which underpins cryptocurrencies, was among the options under consideration and that he had already requested an implementation plan.

The Israeli PM also expressed concern over a potential shift in Washington’s position, saying that “it’s only a matter of time” before US military aid is completely “over.”

“If you think we’re going to continue receiving what I secured twice, and that’s tens of billions of dollars in American aid for the defense budget, prepare yourselves and get used to the fact that it won’t happen because America has changed,” he said.

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Under an agreement signed in 2016, Washington committed to providing $38 billion in military aid through 2028. Netanyahu previously said he wanted to phase out the financial component of US military assistance within ten years.

Former prime minister and opposition figure Yair Lapid seized on the remarks, saying that “Netanyahu now admits, in his own words, that if his government is returned to power, American military aid will end and Israel will face sanctions that will devastate our economy, trigger uncontrolled price surges, and cause irreparable damage.”

The comments come days before Israel’s first national election since the October 7 Hamas attacks, with accountability for security failures, the cost of living, ultra-Orthodox military service, and the country’s international standing among the issues facing voters. Neither Netanyahu’s allies nor the opposition have a clear path to a parliamentary majority.