News In Brief

Report on Israli poverty draws prime minister's ire

Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has reacted furiously to an official report that the number of Israelis living below the poverty line doubled in the first five years of his right-wing Likud Party's period in office, political sources said Wednesday. The report said the number of poor people had reached about half a million, or 14.3 percent of the population.

The opposition Labor Party immediately proposed a parliamentary motion of no confidence in the government, which will be discussed next week.

''The statistics of the poverty report are a lie,'' Mr. Shamir said. ''The condition of the poor under our rule has not worsened but improved.''