Israel’s parliament approved on May 17 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new unity government, ending more than a year of political deadlock, but he still faces a trial starting next week for alleged corruption. His decision to share power with former rival, centrist Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, opens the way for Netanyahu to proceed […]
After More Than Yearlong Impasse, Netanyahu and Gantz Agree to Form a Government…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz signed a coalition deal during a meeting Monday evening, bringing to an apparent end a nearly year-and-a-half-long political stalemate. A joint statement from Blue and White and Netanyahu’s Likud party said the agreement was to form a “national emergency government,” apparently to deal with […]
Liberman May Recommend Gantz for Prime Minister, Will Support Bill to Disqualify Netanyahu…
Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party is expected to recommend to President Reuven Rivlin that Blue and White leader Benny Gantz be tasked with forming a government, according to Hebrew media reports Thursday neither confirmed nor denied by the party. With Liberman’s backing, Gantz could receive more recommendations than Netanyahu, complicating Rivlin’s choice of who to […]
Counting of Final Votes in Israeli Election Set to Begin; Likud Lead over Blue and White Shrinks…
The Central Elections Committee was set to begin counting the final ballots, as it announced late Tuesday that almost all of the votes cast in the elections had been tallied, with the Likud-led right wing bloc down to 58 seats, still short of a majority. The committee said votes from 10,552 polling places across the […]
Netanyahu Tells President He Can’t Form Government; Now it’s Gantz’s Turn to Try…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening announced he had failed to muster a coalition after almost four weeks of effort, and therefore returned the mandate to form a government to President Reuven Rivlin. Netanyahu’s 28-day deadline for building a government was due to expire on Wednesday. Rivlin is now expected, probably on Tuesday morning, […]
Israel’s President Gives Netanyahu 42 Days to Form Country’s Next Government…
It looks like he’s held on after last week’s deadlocked election, prior rumors of his political death notwithstanding. Longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been tapped by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday to form a new government. The longest serving prime minister in Israel’s history has now been given 42 days to form the […]