Netanyahu: We Need an Alternative Digital Economy to Counter Sanctions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it is necessary to develop an alternative digital economy to circumvent growing international sanctions, while acknowledging increasing pressure from the United States.

Netanyahu stated in an interview on a talk show broadcast on Israel’s Channel 10 on Friday, “You must realize that Israel could face sanctions, including banking sanctions.”

When asked whether he meant blockchain technology, a decentralized digital system, he replied, “Absolutely. I have asked for this plan to be prepared.”

Although he did not specify any particular country, Netanyahu’s remarks came after Britain and several other countries imposed sanctions targeting Israeli settlement goods in the occupied West Bank, in response to a wave of attacks by settlers against Palestinians and the right-wing government’s legislation legalizing new settlement outposts.

Criticism in the United States, particularly within the Democratic Party, has intensified since Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023.

Netanyahu, who has previously called for Israel to achieve military self-sufficiency, said that billions of dollars in U.S. military aid packages “will not last forever.”

Netanyahu’s comments came as he threatened to resume hostilities against Iran, which has adopted cryptocurrencies and other alternative economic measures to circumvent stringent international sanctions imposed on it.