Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday openly admitted for the first time that Israel is entering “a kind of isolation,” as international pressure mounts over the ongoing war in Gaza and his government’s far-right policies.
“We are entering a kind of isolation, and we will have to increasingly adjust to an economy with characteristics of self-sufficiency,” Army Radio quoted Netanyahu as saying at a Finance Ministry conference.
The admission marks a sharp departure from the government’s repeated denials of growing diplomatic estrangement despite months of warnings.
Israel’s economic daily The Marker quoted Netanyahu in the same conference as saying the country now lives “in a sort of political isolation” and must act accordingly.
He added that Israel must produce its own weapons to avoid dependency on the outside world.
Industry groups blast PM, as markets dip after speech
Manufacturers’ Association of Israel President Ron Tomer said that Netanyahu “said publicly what we’ve been feeling and warning against: The Israeli brand, of creativity, demand, and success, has been seriously harmed in the world.”
“Israeli industry will ensure that we are never lacking — not in security, not in food, and not in anything vital to the Israeli economy. That being said, an autarkic market will be a disaster for Israel’s economy and will influence every citizen’s quality of life,” he said.
Several Western nations, including the UK, Spain and Canada, have already halted arms exports to Israel in recent months. Others – among them France, Australia, Spain, Norway and the UK – have announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly meetings later this month.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced Netanyahu’s comments as “insane.”
“Isolation is not fate. It is the product of Netanyahu’s misguided and failed policies. He is turning Israel into a third-world country and is not even trying to change course,” he said on the US social media company X.
Yair Golan, head of the opposition Democrats party and a former deputy army chief, also blasted the premier’s remarks.
“Netanyahu greets Israelis for the new year with this message: To preserve my throne, I need eternal war and eternal isolation. You will sacrifice the country, the economy, your children’s future and your ties to the world,” he said on X.
“Our response to this despicable man: This year we will change you and save Israel.”
PM: China and Qatar trying to ‘besiege’ Israel
Later on Monday, Netanyahu returned to the same themes, speaking to a delegation of 250 US state legislators at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
“We value and cherish your support,” the premier told the delegation — the largest group of legislators from a single country ever to visit Israel — adding that “there is an effort to erode [that support].”
“An effort to besiege — not isolate as much as besiege Israel — that is orchestrated by the same forces that supported Iran,” he continued.
While Iran attempted “a military siege” on Israel through its network of terror proxies, and Israel was “able to break loose from that siege,” the premier said, “we will have to do several things to break loose from this siege that is organized by a few states.”
The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 65,000 Palestinians since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
[Additional reports by Andalou]
