The Bank of Israel is to cut the number of monetary policy meetings it holds each year, though deliberations in the run-up to the decision proved contentious.

From 2017, the central bank's monetary committee will meet to set the policy interest rate eight times a year, or twice quarterly, down from the current monthly meetings.

The decision partly reflects the "entrenchment" of the country's inflation targeting regime, which has anchored inflation expectations and reduced the volatility of