The cost of gasoline has increased pressure on the Israelis amid the war on Gaza (Al Jazeera)

Israel raised the price of fuel for the fourth month in a row, increasing the price of a liter of 95 octane gasoline by 0.21 shekels per liter to 7.72 shekels ($2.11), according to the Israeli newspaper Globes.

Fourth increase

This is the fourth increase in 4 months, and the new price of gasoline will be the highest since July 2022 at 8.08 shekels ($2.21) due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Since the beginning of 2024, the price of a liter of gasoline has increased by 0.78 shekels.

This comes after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decided to restore the previous full level of the excise tax on fuel, amid financial pressures on the Israeli government as a result of the high military spending in the war on Gaza, as well as the increase in oil prices in global markets, and the fluctuation of the shekel exchange rate against the dollar.

Between April 2022 and the end of 2023, the Ministry of Finance reduced the tax by varying amounts to maintain the stability of the price of 95 octane gasoline, which was controlled at just under 7 shekels per liter. As part of the cuts in the revised state budget for 2024, it was decided to cancel the tax reduction, which Last year it cost the treasury more than a billion shekels in lost revenue.

Additional budget

It is noteworthy that the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) had approved the draft additional budget law, according to which the government spending ceiling for the current year would be raised to 584.1 billion shekels ($160 billion), including increases to meet war expenses, with a total increase of 70 billion shekels ($19 billion). dollars), compared to the base budget approved in May 2023.

The amended budget stipulates increased spending on defense and compensation for families and companies affected by the war.

This is in addition to the repercussions of the war on the local economy, as the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics said earlier this March that the economy contracted by 20.7% on an annual basis in the last three months of 2023, after a decline of 19.4% in its initial estimate.

In the whole of 2023, the economy slowed to 2%, without adjustment, compared to the 6.5% growth recorded in 2022.

Source: Al Jazeera + Spanish press