Arab Nations Increase Trade with Israel During Gaza Genocide

Official Israeli data has revealed that five Arab countries have increased their trade with the occupation state during the ongoing genocide in Gaza, with some even doubling their trade volume compared to before the war, reaching a total of $2 billion.

According to the data on Arab exports to the Israeli entity, as reported by Arabi Post, the UAE alone accounted for 81.4% of the total Arab exports to the occupation during the war, followed by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Bahrain.

The official Israeli data indicates that from October 2023 (the start of the war on Gaza) until the end of May 2024, the total exports from these five Arab countries to the occupation entity amounted to $2.017 billion. The combined value of exports and imports between these Arab countries and Tel Aviv during the war reached $2.841 billion.

The UAE emerged as the leading Arab country in increasing its trade relations with the Israeli occupation during the war on Gaza. UAE exports to the occupation during this period surpassed its imports, with UAE exports to Tel Aviv from October 2023 to May 31, 2024, totaling $1.641 billion, up from $1.480 billion in the same months of 2022 and 2023, an increase of $161 million.

The data shows a steady rise in UAE exports to the occupation with the onset of the war on Gaza, peaking in January 2024 at $252 million and April 2024 at $249.6 million.

Egypt ranks second among Arab countries in terms of trade volume with the occupation during the Gaza war. Official Israeli data shows that Egypt increased its economic dealings with the occupation during the war compared to before. Egypt doubled its exports to the occupation after the war on Gaza started, with exports reaching $120.2 million from October 2023 to May 31, 2024.

Remarkably, Egypt increased its imports from the occupation by 290% since the war on Gaza began, with imports totaling $271.5 million during the war, compared to $69.6 million during the same months in 2022 and 2023.

Jordan also increased its imports from the occupation during the Gaza war, ranking third among Arab countries in terms of export and import volume. Israeli data shows that Jordan’s imports from the occupation during the war months rose by 35.3%, reaching $67.8 million, compared to $50.1 million during the same period in 2022 and 2023.

Jordan is a significant source of vegetables for the occupation, with the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture reporting that Jordan exported 43,745 tons of vegetables to the occupied territories from the start of the war on Gaza until early July 2024.

Morocco doubled its imports from the occupation by 144% during the war, according to Israeli data. From October 2023 to May 2024, Israeli imports to Morocco totaled $109.5 million, up 144% from $44.8 million during the same period in 2022 and 2023.

Although Bahrain ranks last in trade volume with the occupation during the Gaza war, official data shows that Bahrain increased its exports to the occupation by sixfold during the war and increased its imports from the occupation by 13 times compared to the same period in 2022 and 2023. Bahrain exported $53.2 million to the occupation from the start of the war until the end of May 2024, up from $7.7 million in the same months in 2022 and 2023, a 590% increase.

In terms of imports, Bahrain imported $2.6 million from the occupied territories during the war, up from $200,000 during the same months in 2022 and 2023.

The official Israeli data analysis shows that the majority of trade volume during the Gaza war came from three Arab countries: the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco, which signed normalization agreements with the Israeli occupation in the latter half of 2020.

A recent report from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics indicated that exports from three Arab countries to the occupation doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year, as reported by Middle East Eye. The report showed that Egyptian exports in May 2024 reached $25 million, double the exports of the same period in 2023.

Israeli natural gas exports to Egypt also increased significantly despite tensions between the two countries since the Gaza war and border tensions with Rafah, with energy and security cooperation increasing during this period.

The report also noted that UAE exports to the occupation rose to $242 million in May 2024, compared to $238.5 million in May 2023. Jordanian exports to Israel continued to rise in 2024, reaching $35.7 million in May 2024, up from $32.3 million in the same period the previous year.

In contrast, Turkish exports to the occupation decreased by more than half in 2024 compared to the previous year amid restrictions imposed by the Turkish Ministry of Trade on exports to Tel Aviv due to the Gaza war. In May 2023, Turkish exports to the occupation were $376.6 million, but they dropped to $116.8 million in May 2024.

Tensions on the Egyptian-Gaza border escalated in May after the Israeli army took control of the Rafah crossing. Two Egyptian soldiers were killed in a firefight with Israeli forces at the Rafah crossing last month, but Cairo’s response was considered weak by some.

Israeli trade with Egypt grew by 56% in 2023, rising 168% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. In 2022, the two countries set an annual trade goal of about $700 million by 2025, up from about $300 million in 2021.

Since October 7, 2023, the occupation has waged a devastating war on Gaza, resulting in at least 126,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, with over 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of dozens of children.