FILE – Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli Minister of Finance, addresses the parliament in Jerusalem, March 27, 2023. Israel’s finance minister has slammed a decision by the financial ratings agency Moody’s to downgrade Israel’s credit rating. Bezalel Smotrich says the decision “did not include serious economic claims.” In its announcement Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, Moody’s warned that the ongoing war in Gaza and a possible war in the north with Hezbollah could adversely affect Israel’s economy. (AP Photo/Maya Alerruzzo, file)