Christopher Swift Discusses Potential Impact of Israel-Hamas War on Neighboring Economies

Foley & Lardner LLP partner Christopher Swift is quoted in The Associated Press article, “The Israel-Hamas war could threaten already fragile economies in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan,” commenting on the potential for the conflict to create economic strains and political turmoil across the region.

“The more unstable things are economically, the easier it is for bad actors in the region to stir the pot,” Swift explained. “The notion that you can divorce politics from economics is a little bit myopic, and naive. Politics, economics, and security go together very closely.”

Swift also commented on the likelihood of a mass movement of people from the conflict, saying to presume there will not be one is premature. “Any sudden blow to the [Egyptian President el-Sissi] regime from the outside, whether it’s an economic blow, or whether it’s the sudden migration of a lot of people out of Gaza into the Sinai could have destabilizing effects,” he added.

Swift’s comments also appeared in The Washington Post.