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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel must prepare for possible banking sanctions and that he has ordered a plan to get around them, citing blockchain technology as one option.
Speaking days before Tuesday's parliamentary elections, Netanyahu also said the end of U.S. military aid to Israel is "only a matter of time."
"Of course I’m worried," Netanyahu told Roi Katz of Channel 10 when asked about possible sanctions on Israel’s financial system.
"You need to understand that there could be sanctions, and banking sanctions. You need to organize in a bypass economy. And you know what it is. You know what digital currencies are, and I’m working on that too. And there are other things as well," he said.
Asked again whether blockchain was the alternative, Netanyahu said, "Yes, that’s one of the ways. And I’ve already asked for a plan to be prepared for this."
Netanyahu expressed concern that a trade ban on Israeli settlements imposed by 12 Western countries could hurt Israel’s banking system.
The foreign ministers of France, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Canada and Britain announced on Sept. 8 that they would ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Their joint statement said Israel’s actions in the West Bank undermine the two-state solution and that the situation is worsening daily.
Israel responded by deciding to close Britain’s consulate to the Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) has mapped 121 sanctions and restrictive measures against Israel in 62 countries, 93 of them in force. Financial measures make up the largest category at 40, about a third of the total.
Spain tops the list with 10 measures, followed by the United States with eight, Britain with seven, and Belgium and Türkiye with five each, according to the institute. The JPPI noted that the number of measures does not reflect their severity.
Netanyahu said Israel should not expect continued U.S. defense aid.
"If you think we’re going to continue receiving what I secured twice, and that’s tens of billions of dollars in American aid for the defense budget, prepare yourselves and get used to the fact that it won’t happen, because America has changed," he said.
"This is over, and it will end. It is only a matter of time," Netanyahu added.
He gave no date for an end to the aid and announced no formal U.S. decision.
Under a 2016 agreement, Israel receives $38 billion in U.S. military assistance over 10 years, a period set to end in 2028. Netanyahu has previously called for reducing Israel’s dependence on U.S. military aid and strengthening its defense industry.
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