Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that the U.S. military aid to Israel could end and the country's banking sector could face harsh global sanctions. He made the remarks in an inter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that the U.S. military aid to Israel could end and the country's banking sector could face harsh global sanctions.
He made the remarks in an interview on Oct. 23 in the wake of the United Kingdom recently imposing sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“Of course I’m concerned,” Netanyahu said. “Tens of billions of US aid dollars to the defense budget — get used to it — won’t keep coming. Because America has changed. Not because Israel has. It’s over and it will be over; it’s just a question of time.”
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Israel should organize an alternative economy to circumvent potential banking sanctions and one of the possible options is embracing blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, he suggested as Israel faces the next legislative elections on Oct. 27.
These elections will elect the 26th Knesset and determine the government that succeeds the 37th government led by Netanyahu.
What is Blockchain? (4:09)In simple terms, a blockchain is a distributed digital ledger where data is recorded only after users (nodes) spread across the world reach a consensus. It is not controlled by a centralized body like a government or a bank, which makes it impossible for one body to manipulate or delete recorded data.
One of the most successful use cases of blockchain technology is cryptocurrency. It is a digital currency that relies on cryptography to conceal sensitive financial information from those except the receiver and sender.
Though crypto is anonymous to a certain extent and is used by people trying to evade sanctions, a competent regulatory agency can still trace the movement of funds back to the bank account and find out the identity of the actors.
Netanyahu's proposal to embrace crypto in the face of potential sanctions on Israel drew sharp reactions from different quarters of the country, including the central bank.
Cryptocurrencies cannot serve as a means to circumvent sanctions imposed on Israel, and the right course of action is to preserve economic relations with the country's primary trading partners and to focus on preventing sanctions and their negative impact on the economy, the Bank of Israel said.
Responding to the central bank's criticism, Netanyahu said he heard the resistance to his proposal and was taking it into account.
“I thank the Bank of Israel for the advice. I listen, but I do what I think [is best].”
The Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid sharply criticized the prime minister's remarks, saying globally sanctioned countries like Iran, Russia, and Venezuela bypass economies and Netanyahu's vision is to put Israel on par with them.
Making a pitch ahead of the elections, Lapid said his party would reach agreements — not sanctions — with the U.S., Europe, and Saudi Arabia.
אתמול נתניהו התראיין לרועי כץ. שאלו אותו אם הוא חושש מסנקציות על ישראל. תקראו לאט, זה ראש הממשלה מדבר, ארבעה ימים לפני הבחירות:״בטח שאני חושש.״״יכולות להיות סנקציות, וסנקציות בנקאיות.״״סנקציות בנקאיות הן דבר שצריך להיערך אליו בכלכלה עוקפת.״ואיך עוקפים? ״אתה יודע מה הם… pic.twitter.com/pkyWdxjifJ
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) October 24, 2026
Yair Golan of the Democrats party slammed the prime minister's "disconnected and hysterical performance" and suggested that a simple way to avoid economic sanctions and "fight the Jewish terrorism" devastating Israel's standing in the world is to vote for a new government without Netanyahu.
Gadi Eisenkot of the Yashar party, Netanyahu's main challenger, called the prime minister's crypto proposal his "BibiCoin" vision, which he said is a threat to national security.
"How could Google acquire an Israeli firm if the condition were to bypass the international banking system and pay in cryptocurrency?" Eisenkot asked. "The BibiCoin policy would drive many companies to relocate to other countries."
Financial journalist Shlomo Teitelbaum said Netanyahu's crypto plan isn't realistic and is "just buzzwords."
"Is this the vision of our head of state? Crypto instead of diplomatic agreements? Bitcoin instead of the Foreign Ministry?"
Crypto entrepreneur and investor Avishay Ovadia also said Netanyahu is "wrong and misleading" on crypto.
It's impossible to evade sanctions on Israel using cryptocurrencies because there are almost no private coins in use, every transaction is documented, and there’s always an entity at the end that converts dollars to crypto and vice versa, Ovadia explained.
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