Occupation forces evacuating wounded soldiers after operations in the Gaza Strip (French)

The cost to Israel of conscripting a single male into reserve service is 48,000 shekels ($13,339) per month, while it amounts to 27,000 shekels ($7,503) per month to conscript him into regular service (permanent in the occupation army), according to the Ministry of Finance’s assessment, which was quoted aside. From the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post.

The economic cost of recruiting females into reserve service amounts to 32,000 shekels ($8,893) per month for a female conscript, and 21,000 shekels ($5,836) for regular service, according to the report.

Cost evaluation

Yesterday, the Ministry of Finance issued an assessment of the economic costs of the various alternatives to increase the number of occupation army recruits, and found that the high economic costs stem from additional reserve service, and not from extended regular service.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation army announced last February a plan to increase the number of its personnel, due to the new needs caused by the war on the Gaza Strip.

The ministry's report considered several alternatives to increase the army's manpower, including extending the regular compulsory service of soldiers, increasing the manpower of soldiers in regular service who have exceeded their mandatory term, or increasing the duration of reserve service.

The report predicted various types of economic damage as a result of increased manpower needs. The report said that extending regular service would delay the entry of young people into the academic stages of education and the labor market, while extending reserve service would harm seniority in the labor market for those working in the reserve.

The Israeli occupation army seeks to increase the number of its recruits due to its losses in Gaza (Al Jazeera)

By age group

The report divided the cost of reserves by age group into:

  • The highest cost is for men in the age group between 40 and 45 years, reaching 62 thousand shekels per month ($17,230).

  • The least expensive age group for men was for those between 22 and 30 years old, at 33,000 shekels ($9,171) per month for one recruit.

  • For women, in the age group between 40 and 45 years, the cost of one female soldier reached 38 thousand shekels (10 thousand and 560 dollars) per month.

  • For 27 thousand shekels ($7,503) for a female soldier between the ages of 22 and 30 years.

The newspaper stated that the cost was calculated using 4 types of impact that the increased service will have on the economy as follows:

  • The loss of labor inputs into the economy, and reflects the opportunity economic cost that the soldier would have achieved had he not joined the military.

  • Loss of seniority in the labor market.

  • The cost of deferred academic studies.

  • The cost incurred by a reservist's wife from his service.

Recruiters work

It is noteworthy that about a thousand soldiers and reserve officers in the occupation army have been forced to close their businesses and commercial interests since the outbreak of the war on Gaza, according to “The Marker” economic supplement of the Haaretz newspaper.

According to data from the Israeli National Insurance Institute, 6% of all commercial entities whose owners were forced to close since the beginning of the war are owned by soldiers and officers who were forced to engage in military service with the outbreak of the war.

The Marker added that a large number of these businesses are forced to pay approximately 60,000 shekels per month for monthly rent, which means that closing them for one month leaves their owners facing great difficulties to restore their economic and financial situation.

Source: Israeli press