Former Economy and Intelligence Minister MK Eli Cohen (Likud) pointed an accusing finger at the current Israeli government, blaming it for the significant and recent rise in the cost of living.
"The one who sparked the wave of price hikes is the government itself," Cohen told 103 FM Radio. "It raised the prices of the most basic products - electricity, water, property tax, gas for cooking."
"Every family in Israel is paying thousands of shekels more."
Cohen added that during the four years he was Economy Minister, "the prices of housing rose less than what happened during the past year, under the current government."
"What good news is there for young couples in the State budget? The government has not fought against even one monopoly."
Cohen noted that the economic plan offered by the Israeli government will only give families another few hundred shekels each month, "which obviously will only go to the rich and well-off." Such a plan "mocks the poor," he emphasized.