Morocco’s development needs, combined with the ambitions of Israeli companies to expand beyond the domestic market, can make cooperation beneficial to the two countries in both the economic and the diplomatic sphere. It can also advance their interests with countries in Western and Central Africa.
The terrorist attacks in Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv, and Elad by undocumented workers brought to the fore the phenomenon of workers’ easy entry into Israel through the barrier between Israel and the West Bank and their stay in Israel without permits. In fact, the number of undocumented workers in Israel has increased from about 20,000 on the eve of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to about 40,000 in most of 2021, mainly due to workers switching from documented employment to undocumented employment. It is likely that Israeli policy...
In August 2021 the International Monetary Fund allocated Special Drawing Rights (SDR) worth about $650 billion to member countries with the aim of increasing their foreign exchange reserves during the COVID-19 crisis. This allocation, the largest in IMF history, increased the reserves of Middle East countries by about $48 billion. The average allocation per country was equal to 1 percent of its GDP, but the allocation to Lebanon, whose economy and reserves have shrunk in recent years, amounted to about 5 percent of GDP. Iraq,...
The sanctions led by the US and the EU include asset freezing of designated Russian persons and entities. Analysis of reported Russian investments abroad (USD 382 billion in 2020) suggests that the vast majority of Russian investments are in sanctioning countries, and particularly in Europe. Hence, the effectiveness of the asset-freezing depends on the efficacy of the authorities and financial sector, particularly in Europe. However, there are indications of underreporting of Russian investments worth about USD 90 billion to Western...
The international system is struggling with many crises and challenges, led by the continued efforts at economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis while coping with the pandemic itself; the intensifying competition between the United States and China, which heightens the divisiveness in the international dynamic; and the climate crisis, which tests the ability to cooperate despite disagreements. The US administration has less attention for the Middle East, and is restoring human rights considerations to a central place in its policy,...
Three seminal developments shaped the domestic arena in Israel over the past year. The first was the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, marked by changing intensities and Israel’s successful vaccination campaign. The second was Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021, which posed difficult challenges to Israel both militarily vis-à-vis Hamas in Gaza and domestically, with violent clashes between Arabs and Jews in Israel. The third was the formation of the new Israeli government.
In the past two years, Israel has unofficially renewed the employment of Gaza Strip residents in Israel, and the number of Gazans who received “merchant permits” rose to 10,000 in October. This article briefly reviews the history of employment of Gaza residents in Israel and the connection between this employment, unemployment in the Gaza Strip, and support for Hamas. Based on findings presented here, the article concludes that the effect of employment of 10,000 Gazans in Israel on unemployment in the Gaza Strip is likely...
The strategic assessment for Israel for 2021 is shaped by significant uncertainty in three principal areas: the level of success in coping with COVID-19; the modus operandi and policies of the new administration in the United States; and the political developments in Israel. The current assessment is based on a broader conception of national security, which places greater weight than in the past on the domestic arena and on threats to internal stability, social cohesion, values, and fabric of life. This of course does not detract...
Israel has an interest in preventing illegal exploitation of Palestinians working in the country, in order to support stability in the West Bank, fight the shadow economy in Israel, and uphold the law. The Israeli reform in the work permit regime in December 2020-March 2021 aimed to eliminate the illegal trade in work permits of Palestinians employed in Israel by strengthening workers’ bargaining power. This article presents a preliminary evaluation of the impact of the reform. It shows that in the first seven month of its...
The proposed reforms in importation of manufactured goods and agricultural produce are expected to affect the Palestinian economies in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which are part of the Israeli customs union. Increasing exposure to imports of goods and agricultural produce by easing import procedures and gradually reducing tariffs is expected to help Palestinian consumers by lowering product prices, and in particular, food products that are more important in the Palestinian consumer basket compared to the Israeli basket. On the...
Endorsing the position of the IDF Chief of Staff, Israel’s Prime Minister and the Ministers of Defense and Finance decided recently to postpone implementation of a previous government decision to shorten compulsory IDF service for men. Accordingly, compulsory IDF service for men will continue to be 32 months. This significant decision opposes the recommendations of several professional commissions and earlier decisions by the government and the Knesset to gradually shorten men’s compulsory service to 24 months. Human resources...
At the start of H. E. President Isaac Herzog’s term of office, and following the many global and local developments and changes over the past six months – including a new administration in Washington, President Biden’s decision to try to return to the nuclear deal with Iran, the formation of a new government in Israel, and growing tensions in Israeli society, including clashes between Arabs and Jews in Israeli cities – the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) presented to President Herzog highlights on the main strategic...
