More than 100 economic experts and former senior Israeli officials have expressed concern over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposal to use crypto currencies to evade possible banking sanctions.

This was in a statement cited by Israeli media on Sunday.

In a strongly worded letter, the signatories warn that comprehensive sanctions would cause “enormous and irreversible damage” to the Israeli economy.

Among those who signed the letter was Joel Mokyr, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, and Aaron Ciechanover, a Nobel laureate in chemistry.

According to the reports, the signatories accuse Netanyahu of failing to grasp the seriousness of the threat and criticise his proposal as a solution more commonly associated with criminal organisations.

Israel is facing international pressure primarily over its policies in the occupied West Bank and its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Several countries have imposed sanctions on settlers, organisations and individual members of the government, but the country’s banking system has not yet been targeted.

Earlier on Friday, Netanyahu told Israeli broadcaster Channel 10 that he had commissioned a plan to prepare Israel for possible international sanctions against its banking system.

He said that he was also considering the use of crypto currencies and block chain technology to carry out financial transactions outside the restrictions of the traditional banking system.

Israel’s central bank has also rejected the proposal. Crypto currencies must not be used to circumvent sanctions, it said. Instead, the political leadership must ensure that economic ties with Israel’s most important trading partners are maintained.

The Israeli economy is heavily dependent on foreign trade and investment.

The high-tech sector, in particular, relies on functioning international banking connections. (dpa/NAN)