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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Lebanon war cost Israel $1.6bn
2006-08-16
Israel's month-long war against Hizbullah has cost the country $1.6bn (£850m), or about 1% of GDP, according to initial government estimates. About a third of that went directly to the army.

Most analysts believe the ceasefire arrived just in time to stop the conflict putting a significant brake on Israel's high growth rate, although the economy is vulnerable to any resumption in the fighting. However, the total bill is unlikely to exceed the approximately $2.5bn Israel receives each year in aid from the US - $2.2bn of that in military grants.

At least 6,000 houses or businesses in the north were destroyed or damaged during the fighting. Much of the region's fruit harvest rotted on the trees because farm labourers spent the month in their shelters. More than a million people were displaced from the north and about a quarter of the region's small businesses had to be saved from bankruptcy by emergency government support, according to Oded Feller, the president of the Chamber of Commerce for Haifa and the north. On top of that, 30,000 reservists left their jobs around the country when they were called up.

Most importantly, tourism died completely in the northern beach resorts and around the Sea of Galilee and was badly hit in the rest of the country. Even if fighting does not break out again, there are likely to be ripple effects on tourism into next year at least.

With the truce holding for the time being, the Tel Aviv stock market has already recovered to within 2% of its pre-war level and the shekel has also bounced back.

The 5% growth rate of the past three years could be slowed, but perhaps by less than 1%, government economists hope. "In a couple of months, we can recoup half the losses. The factories will work overtime," said Shraga Brosh, the head of the Manufacturer's Association of Israel.

Foreign investment, which has fuelled the high growth of recent years, is expected to double this year to about $12bn, mostly in the form of acquisitions of Israeli start-ups, he said. "Right now, there is no negative reaction. Those people who plan to invest in Israel are keeping their investment here. People believe the economy is strong."

According to Mr Brosh, the damage would have been much more serious if the war had gone on even a few weeks longer, and such economic considerations may have played a role in the government's decision to accept the UN ceasefire.
Posted by:Steve White

#4  Let's see who bounces back to normal faster, northern Israel or southern Lebanon. Any bets?
But as long as Naz and the Hizzie boys feel good about themselves, that's what really matters...
Posted by: tu3031   2006-08-16 14:04  

#3  I wonder how much it cost the Lebanese. I wonder how much it will cost the international community (thanks, UN!). Was it worth it to shirk responsibility? The way things are going, I sense Round 2 coming up, so it must have been.
Posted by: gorb   2006-08-16 03:49  

#2  If the Israelis would have started the ground campaign in week 1, the overall cost would have been considerably less.
Posted by: Captain America   2006-08-16 00:27  

#1  Yet elsewhere, the Iranians were whining that they had lost almost $4B with all those bunkers, launchers, rockets and missiles that either the Israelis blew up or the Hezbollah fired off like fireworks.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2006-08-16 00:23  

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