Netanyahu moves to cut Israeli food, fuel prices

Netanyahu moves to cut Israeli food, fuel prices

By Izzy Lemberg, CNN

February 10, 2011 -- Updated 1956 GMT (0356 HKT)

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Jerusalem (CNN) -- Facing mounting domestic political pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday announced a series of economic measures aimed at bringing down rapidly rising prices for food and gasoline.

The prime minister announced four steps the government would take to ease the economic burden. Those include reducing the costs of public transport by 10%; lowering the soaring cost of water; raising the monthly minimum wage by $122.00, and cancelling a recently imposed tax on gasoline, which had brought the price at the gas pump to $ 8.50 a gallon.

The announcement follows a surge in public discontent over rapidly rising prices on basic food stuffs and gasoline with criticism of government inaction becoming common even from members of Netanyahu's own Likud faction.

Several members of Netanyahu's party have publicly warned the prime minister in recent days that high prices are hitting many his lower to middle income constituency hard and that if something was not done soon Likud could face losses in the next election.

One of Israel's major labor organizations, the Histardrut, also threatened a general strike within two weeks if the situation did not improve and has announced a series of labor disruptions in the interim.

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