Israeli politicians focus on foreign threats, ignoring spiralling debt

Israel’s parliamentary election campaign is in full swing, with politicians talking up their ability to defeat the country’s opponents across the region.But the focus on war and the perceived existential threat to Israel from those opponents masks that few of the most prominent contenders in October’s election are discussing the astronomical cost of the country’s multiple conflicts, and how they plan to deal with it.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Rights groups launch new legal challenge to Trump campaign against ICClist 2 of 4Can Trump keep his ‘irritation’ with Netanyahu in check?list 3 of 4Trump remarks on diminishing impact of pro-Israel groups in Congresslist 4 of 4US diplomat calls Israeli settler siege of West Bank homes ‘act of terror’end of listIsrael’s central bank estimated in its 2025 report that 350bn shekels ($118bn) had been spent on wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere between 2023 and 2026, excluding the war on Iran that began in late February. In April, the Finance Ministry said that an extra 35bn shekels ($11.8bn) had been spent on that conflict.Israel’s defence spending alone accounted for 249bn shekels ($84bn), according to the Bank of Israe...