Smotrich says a Gaza 'real estate bonanza' as stock market tumbles over Netanyahu 'Super Sparta' speech

The Israeli stock market continued to tumble on Wednesday morning, with the downturn widely blamed on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech likening Israel to the insular, warlike city-state of Sparta, while a far-right minister claimed that seizing Gaza could open up lucrative opportunities for Israel and foreign investors.

The Tel Aviv 35 Index fell 1.43 percent and the Tel Aviv 125 dropped 1.65 percent on Wednesday, according to The Jerusalem Post, with Israel’s major banks also reporting losses.

Markets first plunged on Tuesday, immediately after Netanyahu described Israel as a "Super Sparta" as troops launched a ground offensive on Gaza City, despite warnings from the UN, aid agencies, and world leaders.

"We are Athens and Sparta. But we’re going to be Athens and super-Sparta," he said on Tuesday. "There’s no choice; in the coming years, at least, we will have to deal with these attempts to isolate us."

He also warned that Israel's economy would need to adopt "autarkic characteristics", signalling a turn inward toward self-sufficiency and away from global markets.

The remarks suggested Israel was abandoning its long-touted image as the outward-looking "Start-Up Nation" in favour of a besieged, militarised identity.

For investors, the apparent retreat from recent regional outreach through the Abraham Accords and deep ties with Western economies triggered panic, with back-to-back days of sharp losses.

Politicians and business leaders criticised the comments. The Israel Business Forum declared "We are not Sparta", while the head of a major trade union said: "I don’t want to be Sparta… We deserve peace."