Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Witkoff says he and Secretary Rubio will travel to Istanbul on Friday, unsure if Putin will attend
Trump: Iran situation will work out
US, Qatar sign offer agreements for MQ9 aircraft
US, Qatar sign agreement on defense
Qatar signs aviation agreement to purchase jets from US Boeing
White House: Trump called on al-Sharaa to "tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, deport Palestinian terrorists, help US prevent resurgence of ISIS, assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in northeast Syria."
White House says Trump called on Al-Sharaa to join normalization accords with "Israel".
Israeli media, citing officials: Despite the Israeli plea, Donald Trump announced lifting sanctions on Syria
Anadolu: Turkish President Erdogan, US President Trump, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and Syria's Sharaa hold online meeting.
YAF spokesperson Yahya Saree: Missile on Lod [Ben Gurion] airport is third in less than 24 hours, it achieved its target successfully.

Israeli Treasury sounds alarm on reservist wages, major economic loss

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Israeli media
  • 24 Mar 2024 14:52
  • 2 Shares
5 Min Read

The Israeli Security Ministry's expenditure on a single reservist is nearly double that of regular troops, forcing the Treasury's chief economist to warn against further call-ups.

  • x
  • Israeli Treasury raises alarms on reservist wages, major economic loss
    Israeli occupation soldiers position themselves at the entrance to a forest area that was the site of a shooting near "Migdal Oz" in the occupied West Bank, occupied Palestine, on March 19, 2024. (AP)

Extending the service of Israeli occupation troops in the military aggression on the Gaza Strip and corresponding engagement in the supporting Lebanese front are costing the Israeli government between $7,500 to $17,000 a month per soldier, the Israeli Treasury's chief economist, Shmuel Abramzon, underlined in a report. 

In a groundbreaking revelation, Abramzon revealed that total losses incurred by the Israeli economy amount to a whopping $6 billion since October 7, 2023. The report focused on the cost of extending military service for Israeli reservists and regular troops alike, as well as the economic cost of awarding Ultra-Orthodox Jews military exemption. 

In detail, the high-ranking Israeli official said that the economic cost of extending the service of reservists is much higher than that of extending the service of reservists, which can amount to 1 million Shekel (around $250,000) per month. 

"The precise cost cannot be made public because it is necessary to preserve the Israeli army's power system," Abarmzon explained. Israeli authorities maintain extreme restrictions and censorship over information relating to the expenditure and losses of their military, be it in terms of human or material costs incurred in confrontation with the Resistance. 

Read more: Israeli military demands 14,500 new recruits, situation 'not good'

The cost of war mounting on dysfunctional colonial society

His remarks come in parallel with a controversial war budget passed by the Israeli Knesset, which included highly contended expenditures and cuts, including finances allocated to the Israeli Security Ministry. These funds generated ongoing scuffles between the Finance and Security ministries, in which the latter was awarded large sums to maintain its outrageously large payroll. 

The official said that extending the service of 40-45-year-old reservists costs nearly $17,000 per male troop and $10,000 for every female troop in the same age group. As for 31-39-year-olds, the cost amounts to $15,000 and $9,000 for the respective aforementioned gender groups. Finally, 22-30-year-old reservists male and female reservists cost the Israeli government $9,000 and $7,500 per month. 

Related News

Israeli forces call up 60,000 reservists to expand war on Gaza

1,600+ Israeli ex-troops urge captive return, ending war on Gaza

When comparing the median cost of reservists to that of regular troops, a huge gap in costs arises, as an individual from the former group costs "Israel" an average of $13,000 while the latter costs $7,500. 

It is worth noting that Ultra-Orthodox Jews serving in the occupation's criminal military are subject to a different payment scheme, likely higher than other Israeli settlers due to added incentives. Experts have urged the government to apply mandatory conscription on Haredim students, a proposal echoed by multiple top-ranking Israeli officials, including the Security Minister, Yoav Gallant. 

Meanwhile, a whopping six percent of the 16,000 Israeli businesses that closed their doors, following the war on Gaza, are a result of reservists being called up for service. 

Read more: Gantz refuses to meet with Ultra-Orthodox Jews, far-right leader

Israeli agriculture, trade take big hits

Shay Aharonovich, the Director General of the Israeli Tax Authority, told Israeli news website Ynet that the Israeli economy and real estate suffered $6 billion in losses, including $300 million in losses on the Northern Front with Lebanon, adding that officials are finding it difficult to estimate losses in areas of engagement with Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The news website pointed to the "difficult" situation in the "Metulla" settlement, near the Lebanese-Palestinian border, asserting that the colonial outpost has been completely appropriated for military purposes by occupation forces.

The agricultural settlement or kibbutz lost all 2,500 settlers who skipped harvest seasons of valuable apple and citrus fruit.

Previously, Ynet reported that Hezbollah's firepower has caused extensive financial damages to northern settlers, mainly to farmers, because they are unable to work on the farmland they had usurped from the people of northern Palestine and southern Lebanon. According to the Israeli outlet, the losses amount to 500 million shekels ($131 million).

All the way to the southern port of "Eilat" on occupied Palestine's Red Sea shoreline, the Chief Executive Officer of the port, Gideon Golber, said that he might be forced to lay off 50% of 120 full-time employees because of the losses incurred by the port, due to the Yemeni Armed Forces operations. 

These operations disrupted major shipments from the Far East that the "Eilat" port processed before Sanaa began to target every Israeli-affiliated ship in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. Earlier in December, Golber said that the port saw an 85% drop in activity compared to previous months.

Read more: 'Eilat' port CEO labels it non-functional due to Yemeni strikes

  • Israeli reservists
  • Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood
  • Israel
  • Israeli occupation forces
  • Northern front
  • Israeli Treasury
  • Israeli security ministry

Most Read

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu, senior Israeli official says

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu: Israeli media

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025
Saree

Yemeni Armed Forces target key Israeli sites, USS Truman

  • MENA
  • 7 May 2025
A boy draped in a Palestinian flag carries a mock rocket during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 9, 2025 (AP)

Yemen announces hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport

  • Politics
  • 9 May 2025
President Donald Trump, left, greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington (AP)

US pressures 'Israel' for Gaza deal; Witkoff's Israeli rebuke leaked

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer with his wife Victoria make their way through supporters as they arrive at the count for the Holborn and St Pancras Parliamentary constituency where the Starmer is standing for election, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024 (AP)
Politics

UK Labour MPs urge government to recognize Palestine

Israeli exodus: 60,000 Israelis fled last year without return
Politics

Israeli exodus: 60,000 settlers fled last year on one-way tickets

Hollywood actors condemn Gaza violence days before Cannes Festival
Arts and Culture

350+ Hollywood actors condemn Gaza genocide ahead of Cannes Festival

Likud minister calls Trump as ‘unpredictable,’ unreliable
Palestine

Likud minister rebukes Trump, calls him 'unpredictable', unreliable

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS