by Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange fell 7% and many businesses remained closed in Israel on Sunday, the day after hundreds of Israelis were killed during coordinated Hamas attacks in the south of the Jewish state.
While the shekel is already at its lowest level since the start of the year due to protests against the judicial reform of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, an analyst said he expects to see the national currency fall further at the opening of the foreign exchange market on Monday.
“The shekel will most likely weaken significantly tomorrow and we see a high probability that at some point the Bank of Israel will intervene in the foreign exchange market,” said Jonathan Katz, chief economist at Leader Capital Markets.
“This cycle of violence is expected to be longer and more severe than previous ones, with a more negative impact on the economy and fiscal policy,” he explained.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has asked the various ministries to provide a rapid assessment of the budgets required to manage what Benjamin Netanyahu has called a “war” against Hamas.
Many foreign airlines including Delta Air Lines, Air France and Air India have announced the suspension or reduction of their connections with the Jewish state for several days.
Nvidia, the world’s largest maker of graphics processors, has canceled an artificial intelligence summit scheduled for next week in Tel Aviv.
Schools remained closed on Sunday, a working day in Israel, and many companies gave their employees the day off. Most stores, apart from supermarkets and pharmacies, kept their doors closed.
The Federation of Industry said factories were continuing to operate “as much as possible despite the emergency situation, rocket barrages and the resulting shortage of workers.”
(French version Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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