Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid warned on Wednesday of an “economic disaster” following Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of Israel’s credit rating on Tuesday.
“I want to warn Israelis today: An economic disaster is looming,” Lapid said in a post on his X account.
The Israeli opposition leader added that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued statements yesterday saying that “the downgrading of Israel’s credit rating is a result of the war… It is a lie… Both are lying to the people.”
He continued: “In this economic collapse there is also a security risk… The Israeli economy is paying the price for security expenses.”
He concluded by saying that the economic crisis in Israel will lead to “the fact that in difficult moments for us, there will be no way to finance security needs… nor to rebuild the army… nor to build the necessary system against the Iranians.”
Fitch Ratings lowered Israel’s credit rating from “A+” to “A” on Tuesday, citing the worsening geopolitical risks as the war in Gaza continues.
The agency kept its outlook on the rating at negative, meaning it could be downgraded again.
But Netanyahu said Tuesday that Fitch’s downgrade of Israel’s credit rating was a result of his country’s “imposed multi-front war.”
The Israeli prime minister said in a statement released by his office that the downgrade was a result of Israel’s “imposed multi-front war,” and that the rating would be raised when Israel “wins.”
But Israel’s finance minister wrote on Twitter that “a downgrade after the outbreak of war and the resulting geopolitical risks is natural.”
Comentarios