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‘Future of Israel’s Economy Depends on Clear Victory Over Hamas,’ Israeli Defense Chief Tells Central Bank Head
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo: ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday said that while Israel’s economy has taken a hit in the short run amid the ongoing war with Hamas, the economic outlook will be bright as long as the Jewish state defeats the Palestinian terror group.
“The future of Israel’s economy depends on a clear victory over Hamas,” Gallant told Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron in a meeting with the country’s central bank chief in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv.
At their meeting, the two officials discussed the macroeconomic impact of the war, as well as steps Israel’s central bank has taken to ensure the stability of the economy, according to Hebrew media reports.
Such acts have included lowering interest rates and, just days after the war started, selling approximately $30 billion in foreign exchanges to assist the fast-falling shekel, Israel’s currency.
The value of the shekel fell to about 4 per US dollar in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre of over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, across southern Israel. The slaughter launched the current war in Gaza, which is ruled by the terror group and where the roughly 240 hostages seized by Hamas last month are being held. More recently, the shekel’s value has risen and is trading at about 3.7 shekels to one US dollar.
Historically, Israel’s economy has proven to be resilient in the face of global economic downturns. Top economists have attributed this to the fact that Israel’s economy is heavily reliant on the tech sector — tech has accounted for 14 percent of jobs in Israel, about a fifth of economic output, and roughly half of Israeli exports. In general, tech has been able to endure global crises and even seen positive impacts.
Additionally, Israel has a strong tourism sector that draws in millions of Jews, Christians, and Muslims eager to see their religions’ holy sites — many of them located in Jerusalem. During a time of war, tourism typically declines significantly but returns after a cessation of hostilities.
The post ‘Future of Israel’s Economy Depends on Clear Victory Over Hamas,’ Israeli Defense Chief Tells Central Bank Head first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘With or Without Russia’s Help’: Iran Pledges to Block South Caucasus Route Opened Up By Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – Iran will block the establishment of a US-backed transit corridor in the South Caucasus region with or without Moscow’s help, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying on Saturday by the Iran International website, one day after the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Mr. Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Ali Akbar Velayati said of the so-called Zangezur corridor, the establishment of which is stipulated in the peace deal unveiled on Friday by US President Donald Trump. The White House said the transit route would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” the Khamenei advisor added.
Baku and Yerevan have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting or forcing almost all of the territory’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Yet that painful history was put to the side on Friday at the White House, as Trump oversaw a signing ceremony, flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace deal with Azerbaijan—a pro-Western ally of Israel—is expected to pull Armenia out of the Russian and Iranian sphere of influence and could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran.
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UK Police Arrest 150 at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group
People holding signs sit during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had arrested 150 people at a protest against Britain’s decision to ban the group Palestine Action, adding it was making further arrests.
Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square, the force said on X.
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, chanted “shame on you” and “hands off Gaza,” and held signs such as “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
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‘No Leniency’: Iran Announces Arrest of 20 ‘Zionist Agents’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian authorities have in recent months arrested 20 people charged with being “Israeli Mossad operatives,” the judiciary said, adding that the Islamic regime will mete out the harshest punishments.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told Iranian media. However, it is understood that an unspecified number of detainees were released, apparently after the charges against them could not be substantiated.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program. The fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment.
In recent weeks Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program even as it was severely damaged during the war.
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the official told Fox News.