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 […]
Is This the End of Netanyahu?…
Ever since he joined politics, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been dogged by scandals and controversies that never seem to go away. Known to his supporters as “Bibi”, in July this year he became Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister surpassing, David Ben-Gurion the founding father of the Jewish state. But just like the proverbial cat […]
An Explainer of the Israeli Elections…
Gantz and Netanyahu Dig Heels in After Agreeing to Unity Negotiations…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured his religious right-wing political partners Monday night that he would stick to his pact to negotiate as a bloc with them, after agreeing to launch unity talks with chief rival Benny Gantz of the Blue and White party. At the same time, Gantz told his party members that he would […]
With 95% of Vote Counted, Israel’s Blue and White Party Leads Likud 33-32, Deadlock Persists…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger Benny Gantz each gained a Knesset seat, according to the latest ballot count Wednesday night, but the political deadlock persisted, as their respective blocs still fell short of a Knesset majority. With 95 percent of the vote counted, Gantz’s Blue and White party was projected to win […]