No talks set as coalition deadline approaches
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and their parties’ coalition negotiating teams will all be at the Knesset on Monday, but sources close to them all said there would be no negotiations to end the political quagmire. An agreement must be reached by Wednesday at midnight to prevent the Knesset from […]
Why Netanyahu is not planning to resign
While Israel’s government remains in a period of unprecedented paralysis, embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains entrenched in his position, despite being handed a series of criminal indictments that have been followed by calls from political opponents as well as longtime supporters for him to step aside and allow someone else to take over, either […]
147 nations call to halt ‘aid’ to Israeli settlements
Some 147 United Nations member states, including the European Union, have called to halt all aid to West Bank settlements, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing to annex the Jordan Valley. At the General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, they approved a resolution which called on the international community not to “render aid […]
Neither Netanyahu nor Gantz Is Backing Down. There’s a 99% Certainty Israel Is Going to Election
The most frustrating week for the heads of Kahol Lavan – the four in the comfort of the so-called cockpit, and also the rest, stuck in the passenger section – followed the attorney general’s decision to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in three corruption cases. They’d expected drama, inflamed passions, an earthquake. But instead of […]
No agreement reached during Netanyahu, Gantz talks as third election looms
No agreement was reached Tuesday night between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz, who finished coalition talks at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tel Aviv after only 45 minutes, and eight days before next Wednesday night’s deadline to form a government. The Likud complained after the meeting, which Netanyahu […]
Netanyahu, Gantz spar over possible defense pact with US
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White head Benny Gantz sparred over the wisdom of a security pact with the United States, something that Netanyahu said was among the things Israel used to “dream about.” Speaking at a cornerstone-laying ceremony for 12 new factories in Ashkelon, Netanyahu said that this was among the topics […]
Trump, Netanyahu discuss Iranian threat
US President Donald Trump spoke on Sunday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, White House spokesperson Judd Deere said. “The leaders discussed the threat from Iran, as well as other critical bilateral and regional issues,” he tweeted. Today, @POTUS @realDonaldTrump spoke with @IsraeliPM @netanyahu of Israel. The leaders discussed the threat from Iran, as well as […]
With Nine Days Left to Form a Government, Can Israelis Be Spared a Third Election?
Just nine days remain until the period ends in which the Knesset can present a candidate to form a government. If that effort is unsuccessful, the Knesset will dissolve and a third round of elections will be inevitable. If, on the other hand, a Knesset member is successful in collecting the required 61 signatures, the […]
Benny Gantz, Netanyahu readying compromises on unity
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz is prepared to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in making compromises ahead of the December 11 deadline to form a government and prevent a third election in under a year, sources close to Gantz said on Sunday. Netanyahu already compromised by dropping his insistence on serving as prime minister […]
Rabbis propose PM retire in exchange for pardon
A number of religious Zionist rabbis sent a letter to President Reuben Rivlin on Tuesday following what they define as “an unprecedented and dangerous political and legal crisis.” In a letter, the contents of which were published Tuesday by Channel 13 News, the rabbis wrote to the president, “This crisis threatens the ability of the […]