One-fifth of Israel’s population lives under poverty line: Report

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – One-fifth of Israel’s population is living below the poverty line, the National Insurance Institute (NII) said on Wednesday.

An annual report by the institute showed that 1.98 million people live under the poverty line, including 872,400 children and 158,500 senior citizens.

This figure represents 20.7% of Israel’s population of 9.7 million, with 27.9% of children and 12.8% of senior citizens below the poverty line.

According to the report, the poverty rate is almost the same as in the past two years with a minor decrease from last year.

The report also showed that poverty and deprivation among the Israeli Arab and ultra-Orthodox communities remain high.

According to the report, residents of northern and southern Israel and areas in Jerusalem are among the poorest in the country.

On Monday, Latet, an Israeli aid organization, said that over a quarter of the Israeli population lives under the poverty line.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar