The operation, which was unprecedented in the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, was deemed as a great defeat for the regime that had always boasted of its invincibility. Apart from that, the Israeli regime is also grappling with serious political, social and economic consequences of Al-Aqsa Storm and ensuing events including pro-Palestine operations by resistance groups outside Gaza.
1. Eilat Port bankruptcy
Israel’s southern port city of Eilat officially declared bankruptcy in mid-July 2024, according to data provided by the port’s CEO Gideon Gilbert. The data showed that Eilat had not witnessed any activity or revenues in the eight-month period leading to July amid attacks by the Yemeni army against Israel-linked vessels in the Red Sea, which caused an 85% decline in shipping traffic.
2. Economic costs
According to Israeli economists releasing data in August 2024, the war on Gaza cost the regime’s economy over $67 billion. It also caused an 8.1% budget deficit a month earlier, which those economists described as “much larger”.
Inflation also accelerated at a much faster pace than expected, with the annual rate jumping to 3.6% in August 2024, which was the highest since October 7 last year.
3. Emigration from Israel
Official figures show that the number of Israelis, who permanently left the occupied territories after the Al-Aqsa Storm Operation, rose 285%. The figures show that, during the first six months of the war alone, 550,000 Israelis left the occupied territories and never returned.
In the meantime, Israel has fallen out of the top 10 immigration destinations for wealthy migrants for the first time in decades.
4. Business closure
Nine months into the war, a total of 46,000 Israeli businesses already closed amid expensive financing costs and a shortage of manpower, among other issues. The number was expected to reach 60,000 for the whole 2024.
The war also forced affiliates of some major international companies to shut down offices in Israeli-occupied territories. It was in May 2024 when Samsung Next, a corporate venture arm of South Korea-based Samsung, announced that it was shutting down its office in Israel.
5. Israeli Arab-Med Corridor plan delayed
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) is aimed at fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf, and Europe through the proposed route of India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Greece.
The initiative is also called as Arab-Med Corridor due to the significant role the Israeli regime has played in the progress of the project as well as the cooperation of some Arab countries of the Persian Gulf.
The giant project however has faced major delays due to the continuous Israeli war on Gaza. The fate of the project now depends on whether ties improve between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which seems to be in jeopardy as the Gaza war intensifies.
Some analysts believe that Israel's war on Gaza is a major obstacle to India's economic and strategic ambitions in the face of China. That’s an issue which has dissuaded some big Indian investors from participating in the ambitious project.
6. Failure of Arab-Israeli normalization
The Abraham Accords, a cornerstone of the West Asia policy of the US which is aimed at normalizing ties between the Zionist regime and Arab nations, has been derailed by the ongoing Gaza war. Frederick Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, believes that the chances of the accords to succeed are now “non-existent”.
In an interview several weeks ago, he said that the normalization between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime is one of the biggest casualties of the recent events, noting that what once had a 50/50 chance of successis now almost dead.
Zineb Riboua, a research fellow and program manager of Hudson Institute's Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, also believes that the first and foremost achievement by Hamas and other resistance groups is that they have forced a stop to the normalization process between Arab countries and the Zionist regime.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is also of the opinion that the continued Israeli ground offensive against Gaza would result in the complete collapse of the Abraham Accords.
The atrocities committed by the Zionist regime and the US in Gaza have led some supporters of normalization in Islamic countries to change their stance. For example, Dr. Osama Al-Ghazali, one of the biggest symbols and advocates of normalization with Israel in Egypt, has apologized to Egyptians and martyrs of Gaza for his good opinion of the Israelis who have exposed their hateful, criminal and racist spirit in this war.
Moreover, the public opinion of the Arab world is against recognizing the Zionist regime. A recent survey carried out by the Doha Institute showed that 90% of Tunisians, 92% of Iraqis, 87% of Qataris, 84% of Egyptians, 85% of Kuwaitis, 84% of Lebanese, and 94% of Jordanians are against establishing ties with the Zionist regime.
Even in Morocco, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020, over two-thirds of people are opposed to the ties with the regime. Another poll has also shown that only 2% of people in Saudi Arabia support normalization with Israel.
7. Zionist regime’s deterrence weakened
The October 7 event shattered Israel’s invincibility. It showed that the regime can no longer predict limited attacks by groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, or cannot have appropriate deterrence in the face of such attacks. Fear has grown among Israelis, and the consequences of Hamas’ operation have raised disputes that the regime needs a new security model that focuses on complete foiling of threats, not just deterrence. The previous approach, which emphasized short-term military interactions, may be impossible to implement with regard to the current security outlook.
8. Public discontent with Israeli cabinet
According to a poll conducted by Israel’s Channel 12, which was published eight months after October 7, the majority of the Israelis demanded the resignation of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some 44% demanded Netanyahu’s immediate resignation while 28% believed that he should resign after the war ends. Even half of those supporting the Israeli cabinet agreed that Netanyahu should resign before the end of his tenure and some 39% blamed Netanyahu for the regime’s security failure on October 7.
The poll also showed that 64% of Israelis backed a ceasefire agreement with Hamas to release captives held by the Palestinian group. Only 15% opposed any such agreement while 21% of the respondent were undecided.
According to the Israeli media, some 502 respondents took part in the online poll which had a margin of error of 4.4%.
9. Israeli settlers of northern occupied Palestine displaced
The Reuters news agency reported in early April that nearly 60,000 Israelis had been displaced from northern occupied territories in Palestine since last October.
10. Israeli military might diminishes
As many as 728 Israeli soldiers have been killed and over 4,000 others have been wounded in the ongoing Gaza War since October 7, 2023, the Times of Israel has reported.
More than 500 Israeli armored vehicles have suffered damage in the Gaza Strip since the start of war last October, the Maariv newspaper has reported.
11. Increasing hatred towards Zionist regime
According to the Hill, the poll conducted by the Quinnipiac University in the US has found that 52% of voters aged 18-34 said their sympathies lie more with Palestinians while 29% said their sympathies lie more with Israelis.
Among young voters aged 18 to 34, some 66% disapproved of the Israeli aggression while 20% of the respondents approved of the current war.
Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post has reported that a poll surveyed 16 Arab countries showed that 89% of the respondents are against the normalization of ties with the Zionist regime.
YouGov which is a global public opinion and data company has found that about 50% of the British respondents support suspending arms exports to the Israeli regime.
References:
- https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240719-eilat-port-declares-bankruptcy-what-awaits-the-occupying-state/
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- https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-cpi-jumps-10-month-high-36-august-2024-09-15
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- https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/۱۷۲۷۵۹۲۶۷۲۶۳۶۹۳۲۴۶۸
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