الأبحاث

الاحتلال: من يدفع الثمن

تأثير الاحتلال على الاقتصاد والمجتمع في إسرائيل

لتحميل الملف الكامل للاطلاع على تقاريرنا السابقة

The term “higher centenary slice” is a central term in recent years in public debate regarding the growing issue of inequality in Israel، This term means the great concentration of resources and wealth in the hands of a few capitalists. But understanding the full picture of inequality also requires addressing an additional upper percentage segment, which is a “high political segment.” This percentage includes “ideological” settlers, where their political leadership has a great political power, enabling them to impose “veto” On any real step towards a political solution, especially any movement on the road to establishing a Palestinian state. While the first “percent” represents the state of increasing concentration of capital in Israel, the second tranche contributes to the survival of the conflict and to the social and economic burden of Israel.

The answer to the question about the reason for the widening economic-social gaps in Israel to such a large degree lies in the capacity of the two higher centigrade segments, economically and politically، To formulate the general agenda in Israel and prevent the implementation of any steps that could contribute to reducing inequality and containing all segments of Israeli society within the borders of the “START-AP”.

Many Israelis treat the issue of Palestinian occupation and resistance as a security or political issue and have nothing to do with the socio-economic story. This is a wrong realization: “maintenance of the occupation” is very costly, and it harms economic growth and the state’s ability to invest in developing areas far from the center and raising the quality of life for all residents of the state”.

  • The occupation affects the economic stability of the state and generates very volatile growth processes, and economic growth often faces obstacles due to the ongoing violent confrontations such as the two uprisings and the war on Gaza in 2014.
  • The most obvious and influential damage is the military price: continued increases in the security budget due to military activities. Between the years 198-2015, these increases amounted to NIS 55.6 billion. This is in addition to the ongoing security budget, which also funds ongoing operations in the occupied areas. Another aspect of increased security expenditures is directing part of the Ministry of Homeland Security resources to care for the occupation.
  • The economic sector most affected by conflict is the tourism sector. Israel has tremendous potential in the field of tourism, but every major security event leads to a sharp decline in the movement of state tourism.
  • The occupation also affects the credit rating of Israel, which is a relatively low asset for developed economies, due to the threat of security threats to the economic stability of the state. Low credit rating means high debt interest costs. In confrontations, such as the war on Gaza in 2014, the government of Israel avoided declaring a state of emergency for fear of any matter that would harm its credit rating، This led to its failure to provide full compensation to citizens and commercial interests that were economically damaged during the days of the war.
  • The problem of inequality in Israel has worsened dramatically in the past three decades and is today considered to be the highest in the Western world. The neo-liberal economic policies have been adopted since 1985, but the most severe steps were taken during the second intifada period, which was accompanied by an economic crisis of the longest in the history of the country. The most important of these steps: a government austerity policy that has reduced government spending in general and spending on social services in particular; Reducing taxes on individuals and companies, which has benefited the most from the rich classes in Israel؛ Sharp cuts in national insurance allocations that greatly increased the proportion of the poor and affected the middle class.
  • It can also be said that had it not been for the emergency generated by that intifada, these extreme steps could not have been applied, or it might have been possible to take them less sharply and gradually. This is a clear example of the relationship between the NU-liberal approach within the boundaries of the Green Line and the continuing military authority on both sides of the Green Line.
  • Instability not only affects low-income Israelis, but also large companies and high-income earners. However, they enjoy direct protection and generous support from the governments of Israel, which do their utmost to protect them by imposing low taxes on individuals and companies، By reducing the cost of credit and by adopting a consistent policy to reduce labor costs.
  • The ongoing conflict particularly affects Arab citizens of the state, who suffer from persistent discrimination in all aspects of economic development and quality of life compared to the Jewish population. Conflict makes it difficult to remove the specter of “loyalty” to the state and adopt a policy of allocating more generous lands. Without a fair land allocation policy, it is very difficult to truly advance the economy – for example, by establishing industrial zones such as those in development towns and settlements.