Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister in the government of newly appointed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will seek to boost competition in the economy as the country faces higher inflation and rising interest rates.
Smotrich said that Israel is facing a “challenging period” because of inflation and interest rate increases, speaking Sunday at a formal handover event with the outgoing finance minister. He will seek to strengthen the economy, boost government revenue and then provide government aid to those parts of the population that need it most, he said.
Israel’s economy is set to slow this year, with growth predicted to be about 3% compared with about 6% in 2022. Inflation rose to the highest since 2008 in November.
