Israel-Hamas war could threaten already fragile economies in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan
abcnews.go.comEconomic crises are rippling through the countries bordering Israel
WASHINGTON — Economic crises are rippling through the countries bordering Israel, raising the possibility of a chain reaction from the war with Hamas that further worsens the financial health and political stability of Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon and creates problems well beyond.
Each of the three countries is up against differing economic pressures that led the International Monetary Fund to warn in a September report that they could lose their «sociopolitical stability.» That warning came shortly before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, triggering a war that could easily cause economic chaos that President Joe Biden and the European Union would likely need to address.
The possible fallout is now starting to be recognized by world leaders and policy analysts. For a Biden administration committed to stopping the Israel-Hamas war from widening, the conflict could amplify the economic strains and possibly cause governments to collapse. If the chaos went unchecked, it could spread across a region that is vital for global oil supplies — with reverberations around the globe.
“The more unstable things are economically, the easier it is for bad actors in the region to stir the pot," said Christopher Swift, an international lawyer and former Treasury Department official. «The notion that you can divorce politics from economics is a little bit myopic, and naive. Politics, economics and security go together very closely.”
World Bank head Ajay Banga warned at a conference in Saudi Arabia this week that the war puts economic development at a “dangerous juncture.”
The financial situation is serious enough that Charles Michel, president of the European Council, met with
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