After announcing tax hikes and budget cuts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that "there are no free meals" and that the cuts are aimed at curbing budget deficit.

In a series of interviews in Israeli local media, Netanyahu defended the tax increase and the budget cuts that will affect all ministries.

The Prime Minister's Office initiated the interviews and summoned representatives of the four major TV channels to hold the interview on Tuesday afternoon. Each interviewer received 15 minutes with the prime minister.

"I have a responsibility to watch over the economy, and that is the most important kind of social justice," Netanyahu told Channel 1 TV on Tuesday.

However, Netanyahu argued on another Israeli news channel that the tax hikes will not seriously affect Israel's weakest population, since they are aimed at the wealthier strata.

Israeli government on Monday approved an austerity plan that will cut ministries' budgets, raise taxes, to decrease national deficit.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz on Tuesday announced that the planned tax hikes and budget cuts will be delayed until September, to allow businesses to adjust to the new economic policy.

Earlier this week, the government announced a 1 percent increase in the VAT and a 5 percent across-the board cut in the ministry budgets (a total of 175 million U.S. dollars.)

The tax hike also includes a 1 percent increase in income taxes for salaries above the average, with across-the-board expenditure cuts.

The government's new financial policies raised an outcry from various ministries, such as Public Security and Health, on the grounds that these budget cuts will seriously affect security and health services to the citizens.

On his Facebook page, Netanyahu wrote on Tuesday that "there are no free meals," and that Israel must avoid a similar fate as to that of some countries in Europe.