Government swearing-in pushed off to Thursday against backdrop of Pompeo visit
Israel’s 35th government will be officially installed on Thursday, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, in his role as Knesset speaker, informed parliament Monday afternoon, bringing to an end 16 months of political turmoil wrought by three inconclusive elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Blue and White had previously said that their “emergency national […]
Opinion: What Pompeo’s High-speed Mid-pandemic Trip to Israel Is Really About
His own State Department remains on lockdown, with most employees working from their homes. The entire world is subject to a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” warning. White House officials who have attended West Wing meetings with him have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. Yet with all that, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will touch […]
Pompeo visits Israel on the day its new government is sworn in
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to pay a short visit to Israel on May 13, ending a pause in his international travels due to coronavirus. He will meet both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, an old friend, and Benny Gantz, the new “alternative prime minister,” on the day that the pair take office as […]
PM warns of possible 4th elections if High Court intervenes in coalition deal
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that the High Court of Justice should not interfere with his efforts to form a government between his Likud party and Blue and White, and warned that if it did so it would increase the chances of a fourth election. The High Court on Sunday heard petitions against […]
Settler leader: preliminary Knesset vote on annexation bill can happen now
The Knesset should hold an immediate preliminary reading of a private members bill filed by MK May Golan (Likud) that would allow for the application of sovereignty over West Bank settlements, Yesha Council head David Elhayani said on Sunday. “The bill can already be brought now for a preliminary reading” in the Knesset plenum, Elhayani […]
Abbas Threatens to Dissolve PA If Israel Annexes an Inch of Judea and Samaria
Amid reports intimating that the White House is conditioning its support for Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank on negotiations over a Palestinian state, the administration stressed Friday that it continues to back Israel’s annexation plans, as long as they’re carried out in the framework of the peace plan President Donald Trump presented […]
Abbas calls emergency meetings to discuss annexation
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to chair emergency meetings of PLO and Fatah officials in Ramallah in the coming days to discuss Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank. The meetings will take place as Abbas faces increased pressure from some PLO and Fatah officials to take drastic measures […]
Israel at risk of fourth election as court probes Netanyahu eligibility
Israel’s Supreme Court began a two-day hearing yesterday to determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s indictment on criminal charges disqualifies him from forming a new government. A ruling against Mr Netanyahu would be likely to trigger a snap election, the fourth since April 2019. Mr Netanyahu and main rival Benny Gantz signed an agreement last […]
Up against the clock and the constitution, new coalition is far from a done deal
On April 20, many Israelis earnestly believed the deal was done. Benny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu, after 18 months of electioneering and three rounds at the ballot box and campaigns of unprecedented vilification, had signed a coalition agreement. Some praised the agreement. About one in six Israelis told pollsters they would vote for Gantz again […]
How Covid-19 and Benny Gantz saved Netanyahu
Perhaps there’s no country in the world where the novel coronavirus has had more of an immediate political impact than Israel. What three elections in barely a year could not accomplish — the formation of a government — a virus could. But Covid-19 had help from a patriotic and risk-averse Benny Gantz, who ran last […]