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"We are following the latest developments and the economic indicators," Netanyahu said in a press conference along with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, noting that Israel's economy will be affected by the new moves, which include a two-week quarantine on all tourists and citizens who enter Israel and various ordinances that prohibit large gatherings.

"The coronavirus will have a big impact, but we are entering this crisis in a good shape compared to other countries. Israel is in good shape and the banks are strong and stable, the debt-to-GDP ratio is good, but even so, we are faced with a challenge that we have to meet successfully," Netanyahu said.

He went to say that his government would not leave businesses and healthcare professionals to their own devices.

"We are assembling an aid package of 10 billion shekels (2.8 billion dollars); this is just for immediate assistance," Netanyahu said. "We will continue to monitor the situation and provide more help as needed. This is a matter of life and death."

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According to the report that Kahlon has told a number of different people of his intent to resign, it said it was still unclear whether he would step down from the post of finance minister or just remove his name from running in the next parliamentary election.

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A spokesman for Kahlon said there was "nothing new" in the report and declined to confirm or deny the resignation.

Kahlon has been finance minister since the country's 2015 election, when his upstart Kulanu party garnered 10 seats in parliament after promising to tackle soaring housing and other costs.

Kulanu dropped to four seats in an election in April, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a ruling government. The party ran together with Netanyahu's Likud party but the combined entity fared worse in a subsequent election, losing a combined seven seats from April.

Netanyahu and rival Benny Gantz, the head of the Blue and White party which received one more mandate than Netanyahu, have both been unable to so far form a government. If one is not formed soon, a third election is possible in early 2020.

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According to the report, Israeli leaders are concerned that the Palestinian Authority is close to collapse in the wake of PA President Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to accept tax revenues collected by Israel, which the government has reduced over the PA's insistence on paying monthly stipends to terrorists and their families.

The tax cut amounts to approximately 500 million shekels ($140 million), which constitutes more than half of the PA's monthly budget.

Abbas, meanwhile, has reiterated that the PA would continue to pay prisoners in Israeli jails.

On April 21, the Arab League pledged $100 million per month to the PA to make up for the funds withheld by Israel.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS. Read more at https://www.i24news.tv/en.

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Moreover, the prices of regulated dairy products are expected to ‎go up on Jan 1. by 2%–5%, regulated bread prices will ‎rise ‎‎by ‎3.5%. ‎

Last week's announcement prompted several goods and ‎services conglomerates to announce that they, too, ‎would be raising prices.

The move triggered a series ‎of "yellow vest" demonstrations, inspired by the ‎riots in Paris. Protest leaders have called for a ‎consumer boycott of several food giants, most ‎prominently Osem and Strauss‎, two of the largest ‎food manufacturers and distributors in Israel, which ‎were the first to announce a price hike.‎

Addressing the public uproar on Wednesday, Netanyahu ‎said, "The price of electricity is significantly ‎lower than in Europe and I tell you that it will not ‎rise 8%. I don't know by how much it will rise but a ‎few percents in the worst case."‎

Netanyahu said electricity costs have dropped by 15% ‎since 2013 after the Tamar natural gas field off ‎Israel's Mediterranean coast became operational. He ‎said the larger Leviathan gas field, slated to start ‎production in a year, would lower electricity rates ‎further.‎

The Finance Ministry said on Wednesday it had taken ‎steps to curb the expected price hikes.‎

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said he met with top ‎Osem and Strauss officials, who have agreed to ‎postpone the move. ‎

‎"As I promised, I am pleased to announce that the ‎current surge in prices has been halted. The Israeli ‎public should not bear unjustified price hikes. The ‎Finance Ministry will continue to act to reduce the ‎cost of living in every field, as we have done in ‎the past four years." ‎

Osem, which had planned a 4.5% price hike, said in a ‎statement that it was shelving the move following ‎Kahlon's promise to the company to examine the ‎‎cancellation of tariffs on a series of raw materials ‎it ‎uses for its production operations.‎

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