تجارة الاحتلال الاسرائيلي في خطر… كِلَف مالية باهظة وتهديد الواردات من آسيا بسبب هجمات الحوثي

The trade of the Israeli occupation is in danger… High financial costs and the threat of imports from Asia due to Houthi attacks

The recent Houthi threats and attacks are expected to affect the volume of Israeli foreign trade, especially with Asia, which exceeded 41 billion dollars last year in 2022, according to statistical data.

According to shipping sources, the threats of the Yemeni Houthi group have raised the degree of risks facing Israel’s foreign trade, and with the rise of these threats, that trade has become threatened, especially with Asian countries. As well as with African and Gulf countries.

In this regard, the data of the statistical website “Statista” indicate that in 2022, the value of exports from Israel to Asian countries reached more than 16.5 billion dollars. The site says that this increase was moderate compared to the previous year 2021.

It is noteworthy that in recent years, trade relations between Israel and many Asian countries have been significantly strengthened, including import trade in a wide range of goods, especially with India.

The occupation’s imports from Asia amounted to more than 24.6 billion dollars in 2021, and Houthi attacks threaten about 41 billion dollars of trade with the continent

The website says in its report that Israeli imports from Asia amounted to more than 24.6 billion dollars in 2021, which means that the Houthi attacks cost about 41 billion dollars from Israeli trade with the countries of the continent.

Despite the fact that this volume of foreign imports of the occupation has not stopped yet, but the cost of import and export is rising day by day, adding to the burdens of the war as well as to inflation in Israel, and deepening the losses of traders who will need subsidies from the Central Bank of Israel.

Israeli sources acknowledged these risks, as the Hebrew newspaper “Haaretz” said on Sunday that the Houthi group has become a threat to Israel’s Interests by targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

The newspaper quoted unnamed sources as confirming that the Houthis have become a threat to the foreign trade of the occupying state in the Red Sea, especially in terms of imports coming from East Asia.

The Houthi group announced on Saturday to prevent the passage of any ship heading to the ports of the Israeli occupation. The Yemeni group said that its decision will only be reversed if food and medicine enter the Gaza Strip, and that these ships will be a legitimate target for the Yemeni armed forces.

Since the start of the war on the Gaza Strip, the Houthi group’s attacks on Israeli commercial ships, and those carrying goods bound for the ports of the Zionist entity, have posed a threat to Israel’s exports and imports, as the cost of trade has increased significantly in recent weeks.

So far, the losses of the occupation state from the Yemeni attack on Israeli maritime trade have appeared in the rapid rise in transportation costs and ships avoiding Israeli ports

So far, Israel’s losses from the Yemeni attack on Israeli maritime trade have appeared in the rapid rise in transportation costs, and international ships avoid Israel’s ports, due to the risks of war and the high cost of insurance.

In this regard, the maritime insurance brokerage company “Gallagher” said last week that a number of insurance policies were canceled to cover risks as a result of the war on the Gaza Strip, according to the Bloomberg economic agency.

The company said that there is a review of annual insurance policies that need to be renewed in 2024. She also said that the insurance markets exclude certain risk areas when renewing until we are sure to know what changes may occur in the new year 2024,” referring to the war zones in Israel and Ukraine.

For its part, the data of the Tel Aviv Foreign Trade Department issued for 2022 says that Israel imported goods worth 106.3 billion dollars from the world in 2022.

The five largest Israeli imports from the world were: raw materials (43%); consumer goods (24%); investment goods (14%); fuel (14%); diamonds (5.0%). Analysts believe that all goods imported by Israel through the Red Sea will be affected by Houthi attacks.

According to Israeli newspaper reports, Israeli ships have avoided passing through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb altogether in recent weeks, resorting to longer sea routes around Africa, or even resorting to more expensive air transportation.

Israeli ships avoided passing through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb altogether and resorted to longer sea routes around Africa, or even to resort to more expensive air transportation
It is likely that the fees of insurance companies will continue to rise, especially on Israeli ships, or those that transport goods intended for the occupying state during the next year, amid Tel Aviv’s estimates that the war will last for two months.

According to the Israeli globas Globes website, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea caused transportation prices from China to Israel to rise by 9% to 14% in the last two weeks of October. There are no recent data available on those prices.

Analysts believe that this factor will automatically raise the cost of the war, dropping the optimistic calculations in early November that a war on the Gaza front alone would cost Tel Aviv about 50 billion dollars, or 10% of Israel’s GDP.

This figure, set by the Tel Aviv government, does not seem realistic after these Houthi attacks and the war on its northern border with Hezbollah.

It is noted that the loss figures announced by Tel Aviv, did not take into account the extraordinary costs associated with the disruption of Israeli trade through the Red Sea.

Israeli ships change course: shipping costs raise commodity prices

The occupying power imports and exports almost 99 percent of the goods through waterways and shipping. These imports include a significant part of the country’s food supply, which Israel cannot and cannot produce at the moment due to the labor crisis.

Israeli companies also import cars and spare parts from China. Tel Aviv had hoped to double its trade with India and China in the coming period.

According to a recent report in foreign policy magazine, “only the ports of Russia and Ukraine on the Black Sea bear much higher war risk premiums than those of the Israeli port of Ashdod at the moment”.

The war on Gaza may also disrupt the port of Haifa, which is located on the coast of the Red Sea. The Houthi attacks also have wide-ranging international repercussions that may increase international and popular anger against them in the future if the war continues.

The war on Gaza may also disrupt the port of Haifa, located on the coast of the Red Sea

The disruption of commercial traffic between the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb not only puts pressure on Israel, approximately 12 percent of World Trade annually passes through the Strait, including about 21 thousand ships and 6 million barrels of oil per day, that is, 9 percent of the total seaborne trade in the world passes through the Red Sea.

Bab al-Mandab is a 25-kilometer (15-mile) strait connecting the Gulf of Aden in southern Yemen to the Red Sea, which extends to southern Israel and is an important shipping lane.

The Houthis are already setting their sights on one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, where cargo and oil are transported in large quantities.

Analysts believe that by focusing on the Bab al-Mandab, and launching previous attacks in the Red Sea and southern Israel, the Houthis seem to be trying to impose high financial costs on Israel, in addition to undermining its security if it chooses to prolong the war.

The Houthi attacks are expected to hit the trade corridor between India, the Gulf and Europe, which was agreed at the twentieth summit this year in India. It is a vital project connecting the richest regions of Europe and the Far East.

Israel’s trade has shifted to East and Southeast Asian countries in recent years. Its trade has become more dependent on the sea lines passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal.