The swearing-in of the sixth Netanyahu government, held last Thursday, prevented the possibility of canceling the increase in the price of products that depend on government decisions, resulting in price spikes that have hit the Israeli market this week.
First, the price of gas for cars increased, electricity prices by 8.2%, property tax increased by 1.4% and also the tariff for water went up.
Previous finance minister Avigdor Liberman tried to continue the subsidy, but due to the lack of a budget source, he wasn't successful, so therefore, the price of a liter of gasoline has gone up again.
Netanyahu's price-freeze promises go unkept
Right before the last election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to work to freeze these prices for at least a year. Yet, the long negotiations on forming the government prevented him from fulfilling his promise.
Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich didn't act behind the scenes or show any desire to delay the increase in prices until the entry of the new government and didn't try to prevent the increases.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein seen during the vaccination of the two million recipients, in Ramla, January 14, 2021. (credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)Also, the chairman of the temporary finance committee, MK Moshe Gafni, who committed to address the issue of the cost of living and the government's responsibility in these areas, didn't act to prevent these increases.
Representatives of the business sector were also invited to the discussion on the cost of living, which was supposed to take place last Tuesday with the chair of the manufacturers' association. Despite this, the discussion was postponed for the second time, this time because of the need to deal with last-minute budget transfers.
