Members of Israeli public ‘don’t see what you see abroad’
Alon Liel, former director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, says condemnation by the UN and international media coverage is not affecting the Israeli government’s decision-making regarding its war on Gaza.
“I think the Israeli government cares less at this stage about public reaction, media reaction, and it focuses on [international] governmental reactions,” he told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.
As for Israeli citizens, Liel said they aren’t exposed to or focused on killings such as those that occurred in Wednesday’s Israeli attack on al-Jaouni school.
“We don’t see what you see abroad. …. The Israelis are focusing on their own casualties, and we have casualties almost every day now on the damage to the north of Israel and to the south of Israel,” he said.
“I don’t think the Israeli public is worried at this stage about it. It’s much more worried about the personal security and maybe the damage to the economy.”
Israel has access to the internet right? The West also doesn't see what you need to see if only focusing on BBC, CNN, Fox news etc. More than on Israeli TV, but the blackout and propaganda campaign goes far beyond Israel.
UN warns of ‘staggering’ economic devastation across Gaza, West Bank
The UN Trade and Development agency (UNCTAD) says Israel’s war has decimated Gaza’s economy and triggered an “alarming decline” in the occupied West Bank, warning that economic devastation has taken place at a “staggering scale”.
The agency said in a report that by early 2024, up to 96 percent of Gaza’s agricultural assets – including farms, orchards, irrigation systems, machinery and storage facilities – had been “decimated”.
A full 82 percent of businesses in the besieged and bombarded territory had also been damaged or destroyed. “By mid-2024, Gaza’s economy had shrunk to less than one-sixth of its 2022 level,” UNCTAD said.
In the West Bank, a positive economic trend abruptly reversed after October 7. The report showed that 96 percent of businesses saw decreased activity and more than 42 percent reduced their workforces.
Now “poverty affects nearly the entire population of Gaza and is rising rapidly in the West Bank,” UNCTAD said.
What’s the economic toll of Israel’s war on Gaza?
Israel’s finances are under strain and its budget deficit is widening, as agencies downgrade the nation’s credit.
More than 40,000 Israeli businesses are expected to go bankrupt in the coming months. Tourism has ground to a halt and consumption, trade and foreign investment have all slumped. Israel’s war on Gaza is damaging almost every sector of its economy.
It doesn't matter as long as the US tax payer foots the bill for genocide.
