Israel’s central bank issues rare rebuke of Netanyahu’s sanctions comments

In a surprising move, Israel's central bank has rebuked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments regarding the use of cryptocurrency to create an alternative economy in response to potential sanctions. The remarks, which suggested such a strategy could help withstand any banking sanctions, have already drawn criticism from Netanyahu's political rivals.

The Bank of Israel emphasized in a statement that cryptocurrencies are ineffective in circumventing sanctions and that the focus should be on maintaining economic relations with trading partners while preventing sanctions from negatively impacting the economy. The central bank emphasized that such matters fall under the jurisdiction of political leadership, stating that it is appropriate to take action to advance the situation.

Netanyahu's comments came during a recent interview with Israel's Channel 10, where he acknowledged growing pressure from the US and suggested that banking sanctions could be a possibility. He further stated that he had ordered plans to be developed using blockchain technology to establish an alternative economy.