According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the Fitch rating agency intends to downgrade Israel’s rating due to the economic impact of the war in Gaza, after the Israeli economy contracted and suffered huge losses of 20%. The downgrade would come after Moody’s about two weeks ago.
Gaza’s economy is also doing badly, having collapsed according to the World Bank. A press release reads: “Gaza’s gross domestic product fell by more than 80%, from around $670 million in the third quarter to just $90 million in the last quarter.”
In recent days, Israeli agriculture has been talking about economic collapse. The general director of the Metulla Fruit Factory, Benny Katz, points out that the attacks from Lebanon are destroying the Metulla Fruit Factory and causing enormous economic damage. The Metulla Fruit Factory: “Produces 24,000 tons per year.” And now production is stopped and the Israeli fruit factory “Metulla” is not working and prices will increase “tremendously”.
The boycott of Israeli products by some Arab countries and Yemen also worsens the situation on the Israeli side. Among the parts of Saada March’s statement is the request for “continuation of the economic boycott of American and Israeli goods and the companies that support them”.
Despite these problems, Israel continues to invest. Currently, 105 startups in the field of space technology operate in Tel Aviv. These startups have raised a total of $314 million over the past year, many of which have focused on dual-use technologies that can be used both on Earth and in space.
Despite the increase in the number of startups, Israeli space technology is still in its infancy. Unlike other sectors, global space giants do not have research and development centers in Israel, forcing companies to rely only on local infrastructure capabilities.
Today, many Israeli companies operating in this field are located close to the customer in the industry’s value chain. They rely on the infrastructure of large companies that produce rockets, launch vehicles and satellites to offer customers services based on and dependent on these infrastructures.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
