Yemen Said Its Word: “Eilat” Port to Shut Down Due to Ansarullah Attacks

BY Staff, Agencies

"Israel's" “Eilat” port will halt operations from Sunday after failing to pay its debts following a steep drop in revenue caused by Yemeni attacks in the Red Sea.

The "Israeli" business and economics newspaper “The Calcalist” reported on Thursday that the “Eilat” municipality had frozen the port's bank accounts, amounting to approximately 10 million shekels [$3m], due to unpaid taxes.

The newspaper reported that the port had recorded a steep drop in revenue due to the Yemeni Armed Forces attacks on ships linked to "Israel".

"Israel's" Shipping and Ports Authority said on Wednesday that due to the "financial crisis it has entered due to the ongoing conflict, the "Eilat" Municipality informed the port's management of the seizure of all its bank accounts due to debts owed to the municipality.

"As a result, a notice was received from the Shipping and Ports Authority indicating that 'Eilat' Port is expected to shut down and cease all activity starting this coming Sunday," it added.

“Eilat” port's 2024 income dropped nearly 80% to 42 million shekels [$12.5m], down from 212 million shekels [$63m] in 2023, as shipping shifted to "Ashdod" and "Haifa".

Sources at the port told “The Calcalist” that the closure would "symbolize a victory for the Yemenis and a loss for the 'Israeli' economy".

Oded Forer, an "Israeli" Knesset Member from the right-wing “Yisrael Beiteinu” party admitted that the port's closure was a badge of shame for "Israel".

According to Forer, who heads the Knesset Committee for the “Strengthening and Development of the Negev and Galilee”, the government had "not been able to remove the threat to the shipping routes to ‘Eilat’, so that in practice the southern trade gateway of the State of 'Israel' is suffocated".

For months, we warned of the collapse of the port of "Eilat" due to the failure to deal with the Yemenis' threats, Forer said.

'"Instead of acting resolutely to keep shipping lanes open, to implement a policy of support, the government allowed the port to collapse quietly.

"Every day that passes is additional damage to the periphery, the economy and sovereignty."

Last month, the entity approved a 15 million shekels [$4.5m] grant to cover "Eilat" port’s war-time debts, calling it a “strategic asset,” but port sources told “Calcalist” the support was insufficient.

Port officials said the entity expected the private company to survive nearly two years without real support. “They threw us to the dogs… it’s a victory for the [Houthis],” a source told “Calcalist:.

As a result of the financial losses, port officials said they had been forced to lay off scores of workers."We had 113 workers; today, there are 47 left," the head of the port workers' union said last month. "There are workers without wages and without unemployment benefits," he added.