Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted today (Monday) to the influence of diplomatic isolation on Israel’s arms industry during the Ministry of Finance’s Accountant General conference.
“This changes Israel’s international situation, both in terms of our ability to import weapons components and ammunition, and it threatens us with the seeds of economic sanctions. This is a fact, and it is very difficult to influence,” Netanyahu said.
He added: “We will increasingly need to adapt to an economy with autarkic characteristics (without foreign trade). That is the word I hate the most. I am a supporter of the free market, but we could find ourselves in a situation where our arms industries are blocked.
We will need to develop arms industries here—not just research and development, but also the ability to produce what we need. We are Athens and Sparta; we are going to be Athens and Super-Sparta,” Netanyahu said at the Accountant General conference in Jerusalem.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded on his X account: “Netanyahu’s statement that Israel is entering isolation and must adapt to an isolated economy is a crazy statement. Isolation is not a fate; it is the result of Netanyahu and his government’s wrong and failed policies. They are turning Israel into a third-world country and aren’t even trying to change the situation. It can be different. Israel can return to being successful, respected, with a thriving first-world economy.”
