"A few days of fighting will not be a problem for the Israeli economy"

All the heads of divisions in the Ministry of Finance held a discussion today (Wednesday) with Finance Minister Israel Katz in order to formulate an initial estimate of the cost to the state budget and the economy following the fighting against Hamas and the rocket fire. The chief economist at the Ministry of Finance, Shira Greenberg, estimated that in terms of damage to the economy, an operation of a few days will hardly be felt, but if Israel gets into a campaign of up to a month, the sums could reach several billion.
The survey of property damage shows that more than 2,000 buildings, apartments and vehicles have already been damaged to varying degrees in the southern localities, the Shefela, the Sharon, the Dan Bloc and the Jerusalem Corridor. The cost of the damage is expected to reach more than NIS 100 million per hour.
Ten buildings were completely demolished and after an examination by engineers it will become clear whether it will be necessary to rebuild additional buildings as well. An additional 150 apartments were damaged and more than 100 cars were damaged without repair. Some of the vehicles were burned, even in the riots in mixed communities in the country. Three buses were badly damaged and two of them were completely burned.
In addition, there are initial estimates in the Ministries of Finance and Defense about the cost of military activity, which has already reached hundreds of millions of shekels and is expected to probably cross the billion shekels in the next day.
It should be noted that the cost of each Iron Dome interceptor missile reaches more than $ 150,000, which is equivalent to half a million shekels, and from these missile fire alone the cost already reaches more than NIS 150 million. The cost of each Air Force raid is estimated at tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of such have already been carried out.
In addition, thousands of reservists were recruited, including to the Home Front Command, and many forces were transferred to the southern and central regions of the country, and this too is a significant cost.
Preliminary reports indicate that about a quarter of the factories around the Gaza Strip have been completely shut down and in other factories the work is partial. The damage is estimated at millions of shekels every day. Due to the non-attendance of many workers, parents of small children who do not work, in the workplace further significant damage was done to the economy.
Meanwhile, in light of the security situation and the declaration of a special situation in the home front, the Accountant General, Yahli Rotenberg, instructed the accountants of government ministries to advance and pay suppliers and authorities within 80 km of the Gaza Strip the payments due to them immediately and regardless of credit days. The payroll commissioner has issued an up-to-date directive to the public sector which expands the possibility of working from home, in accordance with the decision of the managers in the various offices and units.
Accountant General Rotenberg: "Over the years the Israeli economy has demonstrated exceptional resilience and rapid recovery from rounds of fighting and other shocks. It should be remembered that the Israeli economy has strong basic economic characteristics that allow for financial flexibility and the ability to deal with difficult scenarios. And fast for any scenario as needed. "
"Meanwhile, the president of the Manufacturers' Association, Dr. Ron Tomer, and the president of the Association of Chambers of Commerce, Uriel Lin, today called on Finance Minister Katz to immediately formulate an arrangement that would allow employers to pay wages in the current round and pre-arrange compensation for damages." The Wall Guard. "
The president of the manufacturers wrote to the Minister of Finance, "While tens of thousands of workers remain in their homes today, there is no arrangement that requires payment of wages to a worker who is absent from work to protect his children or in accordance with Home Front Command guidelines."
In his address to the Minister of Finance, Tomer demands the declaration of the industrial area in Ashkelon, which suffered dozens of barrages, as part of the settlements of the Gaza Envelope and Sderot, as was the case during Operation Eitan and to expand the compensation route for businesses up to 80 km. .
At the same time, following the situation, the director of the Tax Authority, Eran Yaakov, decided to postpone the date of the periodic VAT reporting to the dealers who are not required to file a detailed report until Monday 24/5/2021. The reporting and payment date for deductions and income tax advances is unchanged. The reporting and payment date for a detailed VAT report will also apply on Monday 24/5/21 (unchanged).
The meeting was attended by Kobi Blitstein, Acting Director General of the Ministry; Governor of the Bank of Israel, Prof. Amir Yaron; Accountant General, Yahli Rotenberg; Acting Head of the Budget Division, Yogev Gardos; Director of the Tax Authority, Eran Yaakov; Head of the Cyber ​​and Security Emergency Department, Yoni Moore; Commissioner of the Capital Market Authority, Moshe Barkat; Head of the Securities Authority, Anat Guetta; Chief Economist, Shira Greenberg; The Ministry's Spokesman, Asi Messing; The Commissioner for Wages, Kobi Bar-Natan; Economic Chief of Staff of the Minister of Finance, Tamir Cohen, as well as other representatives from all the divisions and finance units.
The Minister of Finance, Israel Katz, stated: "The Ministry of Finance under my leadership is preparing for the expected days of fighting with all the tools at its disposal, and the ministry's staff are all mobilized to ensure that all needs for the Israeli public are met efficiently and quickly." The power against the terrorist organizations, while providing full security to the home front and the Israeli economy, just as we did and still do during the corona crisis. "