Arab report expects Netanyahu's defeat due to Israeli economic troubles

The Arabic Office of Boycott said it expected that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be defeated in the May 17 Israeli elections because he is responsible for the economic crisis that is currently troubling Israel.

In a report compiled for the Arab League, the boycott office stated that the Israeli economy is currently passing through its most difficult stage.

Thus Netanyahu's period of power has witnessed the biggest Israeli economic slowdown since 1989 and the highest level of unemployment since the beginning of th 1990s.

Meanwhile, the boycott office said that 1998 witnessed a major slowdown of the Israeli economy adding that the foreign debts exceeded $50 billion, an increase of 8% over 1996.

Moreover, the living standard fell by 1.8% in 1998.