Israel needs sanctions-proof economy – Netanyahu

The Israeli PM warned of declining international support and a potential end to US aid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country must prepare to adapt its economy to global sanctions, citing declining international support and a potential end to US financial and military aid.Public opinion toward Israel has grown increasingly negative amid the wars in Gaza and Iran. In the US, a recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs report recorded the country’s lowest favorability rating since its polling began in 1978, with a majority supporting reducing or ending military aid.Last month, the UK announced a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband describing settlers as “terrorists” supported by Netanyahu’s government and accusing them of ethnically cleansing Palestinians. The same day, 11 other countries, including France, Spain, and Canada, joined Britain in a statement supporting the two-state solution and announcing plans to impose or consider restrictions on trade with the settlements.“We must understand that there could be sanctions, including banking sanctions,” Netanyahu said in an interview aired...