Leviathan gas deal is an actual whale, real estate droops - Simhon: told you so | TV10 Daily
Re: December 10, 2025 in Israel - and what it all means for investors at home and abroad.
The Leviathan natural gas partnership is finalized. And it’s really a whale. Led by U.S. energy giant Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Israel’s NewMed Energy (TASE:NWMD), this is a historic agreement to export approximately $35B of natural gas to Egypt over the coming decade.
The agreement carries profound geopolitical weight, aligning closely with the interests of the Trump administration. Dean Shmuel Elmas, Globes geopolitical correspondent, told TV10’s Sonya Gorodisky today:
The deal is less about economics and more about stabilizing President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s regime in Cairo.
Ultimately, the deal represents a transaction that could prove far more valuable. To Trump, it is the diplomatic bridge that could bring Netanyahu and Sisi together.
Israeli real estate hits the brakes
Israel’s real estate market in October recorded the lowest transaction volume since November 2023. According to the newest data from the Ministry of Finance, only 4,518 apartments were sold, a 12% drop compared to the same period last year.
The picture is even starker if you exclude government-subsidized deals - transactions plunged 40% month over month and 21% year-over-year.
Developers are feeling the squeeze, with free market sales dropping to just ~1,000 units, levels not seen since the outbreak of the war. While sales in Netivot were stable, other major southern cities like Be’er Sheva and Ashkelon saw activity crash by nearly 50%.
This data aligns with a bold forecast delivered today by Prof. Avi Simhon, the Prime Minister’s economic advisor:
“I estimate prices will fall by 10% in the next year and a half. I said a few months ago prices would drop, and we’ve already seen a 2.5% decline. I don’t usually give forecasts, but I believe this is what will happen.”
Simhon also doubled down on his controversial push to subsidize mortgages, a move opposed by the Treasury and the Central Bank.
2000 cyber attacks a week - industry is at peak fundraising
If you’re wondering why foreign VCs remain so bullish on Israeli cyber startups (as noted in our newsletter yesterday), the answer may be in the sheer volume of threats the local ecosystem faces daily.
According to Natalie Kremer, Check Point (NASDAQ:CHKP) CPO, the average Israeli organization now experiences approximately 2,000 cyber attacks per week.
Speaking at Cyber Week at Tel Aviv University, Kremer highlighted that critical infrastructure is taking the hardest hit - telecom and transportation. Making matters worse, the complexity of those attacks is skyrocketing. Kremer warned of “security debt” created by the rush to adopt AI development tools.
“We are jumping generations forward in productivity... but generations backward in security.”
The money is following the companies building the shields for this new reality.
TASE snapshot for Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025
TA-35 Index (TASE:TA35): +1.00%
TA-90 (TASE:TA90) -0.58%
TA-125 (TASE:TA125) +0.63%
That’s our Wednesday in Israel. 🎉 If you liked this update, please forward it to a friend.
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