Israeli cost of living on the rise, settlers are angry
3 Min Read
The failures of the Israeli authorities are ongoing.
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The Israeli authorities are failing in addressing core issues.
In the past few months, "Israel" has seen an increase in prices on basic food commodities and energy bills, including electricity and fuel.
Although the authorities have promised a plan to tackle those issues, critics have slammed them as "useless," arguing that they don't solve the root of the issue, which is Israeli monopolies.
The price of basic food items has always exceeded prices registered in countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, entailing that Israelis are generally used to the high cost of living.
Israeli real estate is one of the most expensive globally - land theft from Palestinians is a costly business.
The cost of fuel, currently, stands at $2 per liter and is expected to increase. The same goes for electricity, car insurance and food.
One tweet referred to the statistics provided by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics which says the economy grew by 8.1%.
Angered by the situation, the tweet read "16 percent growth ... this is a joke .. are you really buying the story?? What exactly has grown ... the country has become poor. The cost of living is rampant and the Moldovan [Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman - ed.] comes to simply destroy the country..."
Another wrote, "Since this crazy government took over, there has been a stark rise in prices in all walks of life, in addition to cruel tax impositions. The question is where is the left wing that had been complaining about the high price of cottage cheese during the era of Netanyahu and now they are keeping silent?"
Read more: Thousands of Israelis protest against the Bennett government
Others said, "The cruelty of high costs of living have exploded just like this volcano. This left wing government is a champion in ruining...".
In the past few weeks, many settlers have opened discussions on Facebook, exchanging ideas on what measures they'd take to tackle Israeli monopolies controlling the economy.
Previously in 2011, similar mobilization occurred when Israeli settlers protested against the government's high living costs, which threatened the stability of the occupation. Authorities fear this may happen again.
Bennett's "bright ideas"
Israeli PM Naftali Bennett's economic plan would see a reduction in taxes among working parents, quotas on basic products; costs of vehicle spare parts and construction material would be reduced, among other plans.
However, journalists, economists and politicians have all denounced the plan, arguing that it does not tackle the core problem.
Monopolies remain the main issue, unaddressed by the government, and salaries remain the same.
Dissatisfaction with Bennett has been growing. Last September, he was called a murderer for his pandemic policies.
