Israeli economy shows resilience on the background of permanent threats for security

Tel – said – the Minister of the Treasury of the United States Cattle Last week, Israeli Finance Minister Lesol Smatrich met at a “very effective meeting” aimed at raising economic relations between Washington and Jerusalem.

Both men “confirmed a strong and strong commitment to both countries to a strategic economic partnership” with discussions on “the importance of deepening economic cooperation, promoting innovation and strengthening financial and trade relations”, the statement of the Treasury department said.

“It was a great trip, we had a significant meeting with the secretary who told about the power of Israel’s economy, the US support towards Israel as at the military and economic level, and the full pressure on Iran,” said Smotrich press.

Gaza Plan criticized by the US and Israel receives European support

Finance Minister Scott Infunders Meet with Israeli Finance Minister Lesal Smatrich in Washington (US Finance Ministry)

“It was very important for the secretary to meet with Minister Smatrich at the beginning of his role, as did President Trump met with the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) at once to show the connection between Israel and America. This also shows that all doors are open for joint work over the next few months and years,” he added.

The economy of the Jewish state was broken and wounded after October 7, 2023, Hamas, the massacre and the subsequent wars against the Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza and Hezbollars in Lebanon, but showed excellent stability.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the gross domestic product of Israel increased by 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Central Statistics Bureau, after expanding by 5.3% in July-September and after a reduction in 0.3% in the second quarter.

Overall, in 2024, the economy increased by 1% – surpassing the Israeli Bank’s forecast (BOI) 0.6% – but compared to 1.8% in 2023 and 6.3% in 2022, the year before the invasion of Hamas’s terror.

Israeli Bank predicts GDP growth by 4% in 2025.

The American iron dome must be “much more complicated” to fight “close unambiguous threats,” the expert says

On November 7, 2023, the Israeli National Flag flies in half outside the stock exchange Tel -Vavo in Israel. (Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg Via / Getty Images)

Other key indicators remain on solid land, and in January 2025, Israel was registered at 2.6% of unemployment, and annual inflation for the previous 12-month period was 3.8%.

“Surprisingly, the war is not over yet, but Israel has come out pretty well,” said Dr. Alex Koman, an expert on the creation of values ​​at the Holon Technology Institute in Israel, Fox Business.

However, he noted that the economy took a big blow since hundreds of thousands IDF reservists were ripped off from work to go for a battle. The tourist industry has stopped effectively when most international airlines cancel the flights to the country and abroad, the agricultural industry was essentially paralyzed as foreign workers returned to their native countries, and large industrial companies in the south and north were forced to stop operations from being in the fire line.

“The contribution to the country’s treasury has fallen because many businesses stopped, and the government spent more military efforts, collecting less,” the Comman explained that the government also spent huge amounts for tens of thousands of displaced people.

“The situation looked very scary, but in Israel there were very big out -of -cyber exits, in particular, and very well spent with the military industry, since these companies are one of the uniform in the world under intensive fire, which led to sales in countries concerning Russia or China.”

On September 29, 2024, the traveler checks the trips at Ben -Gurion Airport in Tel -Awiva. (Gil Cohen-Magen / AFP via / Getti Image)

However, there are problems ahead, perhaps the main pay for the reconstruction of South and Northern Israel, which were reduced during the wars against Hamas and Hezbollah respectively. Jerusalem allocated the combined $ 9.35 billion for restoration, the funds that were included in the state budget, which its parliament must pass by the end of March, or the government by law to dissolve.

On January 1, the authorities also raised the value added tax by 1% to help pay wars, while prices rose on average 4-6% since October 7, 2023.

As a result, the coman warned about the potential “brain drains”. “As the salaries in Israel are low, and the expenses are high, technological nomads easy to work in the US, Europe or even in Thailand, where they are very welcome because they are very competent,” he said.

Esteban Clora, Professor of Economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Senior Researcher of the National Security Research in Tel Aviv, said Fox Business that the financial recovery will largely depend on the events in the war against Hamas.

Israel’s economy is fighting for returning when the Israel-Hamas war is furious

El Al Israel Boeing 737-800 airlines land at Frankfurt Rhine Main In Germany, June 2, 2023. (Fabrizio Gandolfo/Sopa Images/LightRockket via/Getty Images)

“We will start seeing the recovery when the intensity of the fighting decreases, and it will be more significant as the gas and stability solution in the region appears,” he said.

“The picture is quite gloomy, but the good news is that the economy has not collapsed, as we saw with Russia or Ukraine. But this is not growing and it is a sign we need to think about it anymore,” the Currne added.

Leading Israeli analysts emphasized that the meeting between the infant and the sweeps had the consequences that go far beyond the economy, which notes dramatic policy Biden Administration.

Get the Fox Business on the go by clicking here

On July 9, 2024, Israeli army tanks were deployed near the southern border with a gas strip. (Jack Gues / AFP via / Hetti Image)

The previous US government unofficially boycotted the Israeli minister and even considered it sanctioning it because of the belief in the historical rights of the Jewish people to Judea and Samaria-Usually known as the western coast-and its support for fierce policy aimed at full victory of Hamas, whose Palestinian residents he repeated October 7.

In particular, the minister’s position in the Israeli Ministry of Defense, which is instructed by Netanyahu, supervising the civil administration, is responsible for approving the construction and resolution of other bureaucratic issues in the field of Judea and Samaria, or on the Western Bank.