As a result, the Finance Ministry plans to ask that the government not tap into the special reserve of 1.5 billion shekels ($410 million) it had put aside for use in 2019.

Even when the untouched reserve funds are factored in, the Treasury is still expecting that the nation's deficit will exceed the previous target rate of 2.9% to reach 3.5%, or 50 billion shekels ($14 billion) in monetary terms.

For now, the Treasury does not plan to ask the cabinet to approve cuts or tax hikes. Plans to that effect will be presented to the next government, which will be established only after the general election on April 9. The revised growth projections will go hand with a drop of some 4.7 billion shekels ($1.3 billion) in income from taxes and government fees.

Meanwhile, government expenditures are expected to exceed budget projections, partly because the Finance Ministry is transferring more money to the National Insurance Institute and spending more on welfare and benefits for Holocaust survivors.

According to figures from Finance Ministry Chief Economist Shira Greenberg, the gap between revenue and expenditure is bigger by 9.8 billion shekels ($2.7 billion) than what the original 2019 budget provided for. The general assessment was that government revenue from taxes and fees would from 306 billion shekels ($83 billion) in 2018 to 318.4 billion shekels ($86.38 billion) in 2019 – a figure that comprises an additional 12 billion shekels ($3.3 billion) in revenue compared to 2018, but is still 4.7 billion shekels ($1.3 billion) lower than the projected additional revenue when the 2019 state budget was approved.

Meanwhile, Finance Ministry Director General Shai Babad, speaking Tuesday at a conference at the Israeli Institute for Energy and Environment, said the government was in advanced negotiations with "one of the biggest companies in the world" to invest in Israeli high-tech.

"The investments would be of enormous significance for the Israeli GDP," he said.

Babad also touched on changes in the Israeli energy market.

"We were dependent on the Tamar natural gas reserve, and that's changing as other gas reserves come into play. We are moving from a coal-based electricity market to one that uses more natural gas, and the government is investing in incentives for renewable energies," Babad explained.

Babad said that reforms to the electricity market passed last year would result in close to 50% of the Israel Electric Corporation's electricity production would be transferred to private entities, which would allow the IEC to focus on supply. According to Babad, the reforms will increase the amount of available electricity, reduce the IEC's debt, and lower the cost of electricity.

Babad also noted that the Leviathan, Karish, and Tanin natural gas reserves would allow Israel full energy independence.

"We will publish more tenders for offshore [gas] searches. We'll produce electricity in a decentralized, more competitive manner and promote renewable energy. These are the right paths for the Israeli energy market," Babad said.

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Some 4.4 million tourists entered Israel in 2018, marking a 14% increase compared to the previous year, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday.

According to the CBS, the number of U.S. visitors spiked by 15% compared to 2017 and exceeded that from any other country. The number of tourists who left on the same date as their arrival rose by 17%, reaching  269,000 in 2018.

Some 346,000 tourists arrived from France, marking a 12% increase from 2017. The largest increase was in tourism from Poland, which spiked by 56% to 152,000. The number of tourists from Italy also saw a major increase, exceeding its 2017 level by 40%. The most modest increase was among U.K. tourists, a rise of 10% compared to the previous year.

Outbound tourism increased by 12% from 2017 reaching an all-time high of 8.5 million departures. About a third of the outbound tourism was during the months of July and August.

In total, some 4.1 million Israelis traveled abroad in 2018, including 1.9 million who traveled more than once. The busiest day of the year was Sept. 6, 2018, when 53,000 Israelis passed through Ben-Gurion International Airport, more than double the daily average of 21,000.

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In 2018 the population grew by 2%, and in 2025 it is expected to hit the 11 million mark.

A record-breaking 185,000 babies were born in 2018 – 74.4% were Jewish, 22.8% were Arab and 2.8% were others.

Also contributing the growth of the population was Jewish immigration, with some 28,000 people making their new homes in Israel. Their main countries of origin: Russia (31.5%), Ukraine (19.6%), France (8%) and the United States (7.9%).

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On Sunday, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a response by Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, who is particularly close to the prime minister.

"Given their outrageous attack on Prime Minister Netanyahu, it's clear to everyone that Bennett's and Shaked's only aim is to oust the prime minister and Likud from power," Levin said.

"Just as they used Habayit Hayehudi and then abandoned it, they will take the votes they get in the election and hand them from the Right to the Left, giving them to [Yesh Atid leader] Yair Lapid, with whom they've always had a brotherly bond. There's a reason Lapid celebrated [the new party] and rushed to congratulate them," Levin said.

Culture Minister Miri Regev also laid into Bennett and Shaked, saying, "They took religious Zionism for a ride. They are abandoning their home. They'll drop in the polls. No Likud voter would consider voting for them."

Coalition chairman MK David Amsalem said in a radio interview: "I can't understand Bennett and Shaked's intentions. This is a hypocritical move. If the issues they cited really bother them, they should have left long ago. In my opinion, Bennett wants a senior job appointment – there is nothing ideological here. He wants to move up the ranks to the position of defense minister."

Bennett and Shaked, whose fledgling party has been named the New Right, responded by saying they refused to "be dragged into Likud attacks."

"The voters are smart and they know who implements right-wing policy and who doesn't. We suggest that Likud focus on expanding the [right-wing] bloc, not wiping it out," they said.

Several names were floated on Sunday as potential members of the New Right Knesset list, including former Gaza Division commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, educator and Israel Prize laureate Miriam Peretz, military secretary to the defense minister Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter, author and journalist Irit Linur, and journalist and former Habayit Hayehudi MK Yinon Magal, who resigned from the Knesset in November 2015 following sexual harassment allegations.

However, some of the people mentioned as possible New Right candidates – such as Miriam Peretz – have said that they have no interest in entering politics.

Meanwhile, Habayit Hayehudi officials are discussing the appointment of a new party leader to replace Bennett. Possible candidates include Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan or MK Moti Yogev.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said Sunday that a range of new parties were cropping up that "offer nothing other than lists of illustrious names."

Speaking at the Second Jabotinsky Conference of the World Betar Movement at the Zionist Organization of America in Tel Aviv, Edelstein called the new parties founded in the past two months "celebrity parties that will eventually discover that they are shooting stars."

"But we, the people of Likud, have a different path. Or, more accurately, you could say that we, the successors of [Zeev] Jabotinsky, are the only ones that actually have a path," the Knesset speaker told the audience.

Also on Sunday, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel submitted his candidacy for the leadership of the National Union alliance of right-wing parties ahead of the primaries that are slated to take place in two weeks. The National Union was originally formed in 1999 when three right-wing parties, Moledet, Tkuma, and Herut, joined forces. By 2013, Tkuma was the only one of the National Union parties that remained, and it joined Habayit Hayehudi.

Ariel opted to run for chairman, not as a potential MK, which could indicate that he intends to resign from politics entirely if he is not elected chairman of the National Union.

In a message to party activists, Ariel wrote: "I have submitted my candidacy to continue serving as chairman. We have been given a one-time opportunity to lead the religious Zionist camp as a single bloc. It is important to reiterate – you are the ones who decide."

Ariel will be vying for head of the National Union party against MK Bezalel Smotrich.

Ariel wrote that he was "happy about the positive direction toward leadership by the young generation, the ones who were raised on National Union values and took in the values we share. Indeed, I supported and support a team that will start the process of handing the baton over to the younger generation during the next term."

Also Sunday, the Knesset House Committee officially approved the request by Bennett, Shaked, and MK Shuli Moalem-Rafaeli to break off from Habayit Hayehudi and establish their New Right party using the existing framework of the defunct  Tzalash party.

Knesset legal adviser Eyal Yinon told the committee that the Knesset's legal department had reviewed all the documents submitted by Bennett and Shaked and determined that the request to form a new party met all the legal requirements, as did the Tzalash party, which has been a recognized political party for years, although it has not run in any recent Knesset election.

"In August 2018, the [Tzalash] party was transferred from the name of former MK Joseph Paritzky to attorney Amichai Weinberger, who currently serves as chairman of the Tzalash party, and can hand it over to whomever he wants," Yinon said.

During the meeting, Knesset Accountant Chaim Avidar informed the House Committee that Habayit Hayehudi owed the Knesset NIS 1,728,000 ($458,931) for a loan it received earlier this month.

Avidar said that Habayit Hayehudi also had an outstanding debt for a fine it was given by the State Comptroller's Office during the previous election campaign for NIS 272,920 ($72,483). This means that Habayit Hayehudi has outstanding debts of over $531,000.

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According to the Daily Mail, British troops that were deployed at the airport used "a cutting-edge Israeli anti-drone system to defeat the unmanned aerial vehicle" manufactured by the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. According to the site, the system essentially takes over the drone's operation and is already in use by British troops in the Middle East.

The system comprises a "high-tech radar and a laser rangefinder to locate drones," the Daily Mail reported. "Once the system has a lock on the drone, a radio frequency jammer is then used to overload the drone with signals - knocking out the commands from the unknown owner."

One of the Israeli companies that helped develop similar technology for nonmilitary use is Convexum, which is Latin for dome. Convexum co-founder and CEO Gilad Sahar told Israel Hayom: "We have a product that lets you take over drones that fly in urban areas so that they can be landed safely and in a pre-determined area. This tackles the immediate drone nuisance but also ensures it does not inflict harm, which is critical." According to Sahar the police snipers at Gatwick Airport could have shot down the drones but chose not to, fearing its unknown payload could explode or otherwise harm nearby aircraft.

British authorities detained a couple that lives close to the airport in connection with the drone sightings. The police said they may be charged for "criminal use of drones." Convexum has three layers of defense against drones: detection of the UAVs while airborne or on the ground; neutralizing UAVs on the ground; and taking over of UAVs while airborne.

Convexum's other co-founder is Niv Magen. Both he and Sahar served in the IDF Intelligence Corps's elite signal intelligence unit, Unit 8200. The company has not revealed where its products are in use.

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In late September 2016, Israel and Jordan signed a ‎landmark 15-year, $10 billion natural gas deal. ‎

Work on the pipeline is headed by Israel Natural Gas ‎‎Lines. It has been lauded as a "boost ‎‎for peace." ‎

The project is expected to go online in late 2019, ‎coinciding with the expected date that Israel's Leviathan‎ offshore natural gas ‎field, which is slated to feed the pipeline, is also to become fully operational.‎

The work aims to both double the length of an ‎existing pipeline running inside Israel along its ‎border with Jordan, and add a new line ‎running directly through the two countries' mutual ‎border. ‎

The plans are to extend the existing pipeline by ‎some 32 kilometers (19 miles), essentially doubling it. The new, additional ‎pipeline is expected to stretch ‎across 23 kilometers ‎‎(14 miles). ‎

‎"We are in the advanced stages of laying the Israel-‎Jordan natural gas pipeline, which will enable ‎significant exports of natural gas from Israel to ‎Jordan during the coming year," Energy Minister ‎Yuval Steinitz told Israel Hayom on Sunday.‎

‎"This is a significant link between Israel's energy ‎infrastructure and that of the Arab world, and it ‎has great value in terms of strengthening the axis ‎of peace in the Middle East."‎

Israel Natural Gas Lines Chairman Eitan Padan noted that the company ‎‎"lends great importance to the Jordan pipeline, which is an ‎essential factor in the development of the natural ‎gas industry."‎

‎"The work on the pipeline is progressing rapidly and ‎we are even expected to be ahead of schedule," he added. "INGL ‎is delighted to take part in a project that ‎strengthens peace with our neighbors, and we are ‎proud of the fact that we play a role in the Energy ‎Ministry's natural gas revolution in Israel and the ‎entire region."

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The bill, sponsored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for the allocation of the funds over the course of 2019-2020. It follows meetings between Netanyahu and mayors ‎of the border communities, which have been ‎suffering from Palestinian arson terrorism and sporadic rocket fire for months.

"We will ‎present the government with a plan to strengthen the civilian ‎resilience in the Gaza-vicinity communities. This decision ‎follows meetings I held with the heads of the local authorities there, ‎and the finance and interior ministers,"‎ Netanyahu said ahead of Sunday's cabinet meeting.

"We decided to continue the aid program ‎that was introduced to the area over the past few years and we will ‎invest another NIS 700 million in programs promoting the residents' ‎welfare. They stand firm and we support them.‎

‎"The resilience displayed by the residents of the Gaza-vicinity ‎communities is an important component of Israel's national ‎resilience. This resilience helps me and my colleagues in the ‎government and the cabinet to make the right decisions in the right ‎way and at the right time."

The bill offers financial incentives for companies ‎to relocate to the area, and boosts ‎education, health and welfare budgets, including budgets for resilience and crisis centers already operating near the volatile border. The overall aim is to bolster the residents' faltering sense of personal safety.  ‎

Funds will also be dedicated to improving agriculture, sewage, ‎transportation and other public infrastructure, and promoting tourism, ‎access to digital services, and new construction projects. ‎

The projects will be promoted by the Prime Minister's ‎Office and by all government ministries. ‎

‎"According to information provided by the defense establishment ‎and in light of data gathered in 2018, it was concluded that the ‎security threat the communities near the Gaza border face is ‎unique compared to other communities in Israel. The emergency routine ‎in this area requires a unique and different response to the ‎residents' needs by state and local authorities," the government decision state.‎

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel told Israel Hayom that "the resilience ‎program is extremely important" and that "the farmers in the ‎area represent Zionism in 2018 and it was this understanding that ‎led us to strengthen them."‎

He said his ministry will promote issues such as increasing ‎the number of foreign workers in agriculture, investing in research and ‎development projects, and pursuing other projects ‎to reduce social and economic gaps in southern Israel. ‎

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According to the report, wage growth worldwide slowed by 2.4% in 2016 and 1.8% in 2017. Leaving out China, whose immense population and growth rate have a major influence on the global average, the rate of wage growth slowed by 1.8% in 2016 and 1.1% in 2017.

Despite the slowdown in wage growth – which is the lowest since 2008 – Israel has seen its average national wage rise consistently for the past five years: by 1.4% in 2013; 2.7% in 2014; 2.6% in 2015; 2.9% in 2016; and 3% in 2017.

The rate of wage growth in Israel also performed well when compared to some of the strongest economies in the world. The average rate of wage growth in G-20 nations dropped to only 0.4% for 2017 (compared to Israel's 3% increase for the same year). Some developed countries, such as Spain and Italy, saw negative growth in their annual wages. The U.S. saw its average wage grow by only 0.7% in 2017, the same rate the U.S. recorded in 2016.

In general, Asian nations saw the biggest and most consistent growth in their average national wage, but even in those countries, the rate of growth slowed from 4.8% in 2016 to 3.5% in 2017.

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Adams announced his contribution while touring SpaceIL's facility, located at Israel Aerospace Industries in central Israel on Monday.

Celebrating his 60th birthday with the donation, Adams said that "This contribution to strengthening the Israeli space program, and encouraging education for excellence and innovation among the younger generation in Israel, is the best gift I could have asked for."

"I believe that sending the first Israeli spacecraft to the moon will inspire Israeli school children to take up STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] studies and think about space exploration, and especially to believe that anything is possible," he added.

SpaceIL president Morris Kahn, whose Khan Foundation has donated $27 million to the project, thanked Adams "for his generous contribution to our effort."

"We are in the final stretch, and I believe that his joining will help us raise the remaining funds needed to complete our ambitious mission," said Kahn.

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The ‎United States, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland and ‎Japan topped the new index, while the African Republic of Chad ranked last, in 140th place.

The index said several factors are ‎impeding the growth of the Israeli economy and have caused its fall in the placings, including its ‎low ranking on indices measuring ‎government bureaucracy (59), the time it takes to ‎open a business in Israel (74), the costs ‎associated with starting a business in Israel (50), ‎and cumbersome business credit application practices ‎‎(45). ‎

Israel also fell short in indices measuring the complexity of its tariffs and ‎payments system (81), the ease of employing foreign workers ‎‎(125), maritime and air services (42), the ‎quality of vocational training (37), and government budgetary transparency (90).

All these indicate that there is vast room for ‎improvement in easing the regulatory ‎and bureaucratic burdens in Israel.‎

Despite this, the index ‎‎stressed that Israel has been able to maintain its ‎position as the world's No.1 startup nation in terms ‎of investment in research and development companies ‎and the overall approach to entrepreneurial ‎ventures.‎

Israel ranked 10th in the World Economic Forum's Patent Application ‎Index and second in its Venture Capital Availability ‎Index. ‎

In addition, Israel ranked sixth in the index ‎evaluating the integration of women in ‎the workforce. ‎

The report said that the Middle East and North ‎Africa have been undergoing accelerated economic ‎reforms in recent years, prompted by major economic, ‎social and political shifts.‎

After something of a "lost decade," the global economic ‎recovery is in full swing and is expected to grow by ‎‎4% in both 2018 and 2019, the report said.

However, "today's economy and the business ‎environments remain challenging and complex and ‎economic recovery remains vulnerable to possible ‎risks,"‎ it said.

‎Israeli Manufacturers Association President Shraga ‎Brosh said, ‎"Israel's deterioration in the Global ‎Competitiveness ‎Index should raise a red flag among ‎all senior ‎government officials.

‎"Unlike what they are trying to sell us, Israel's ‎economic future does not bode well. The economic ‎leadership has to take these indices seriously and ‎take concrete steps to change the situation."

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