Israel News

The ’emergency national unity government’ that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz agreed to promises to finally put an end to the political deadlock that has afflicted Israel since the Knesset dissolved at the end of 2018.

With the deadline to call new elections inching closer, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz is weighing carefully his demands of, and threats against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the two jockey over forming a unity government.

Adhering to social distancing regulations aimed at stemming the coronavirus outbreak, thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv’s emblematic Rabin Square on Sunday night for the latest ‘black flag’ demonstration against an alleged erosion of Israeli democracy under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership.

With much of Hungary in lockdown, a minister attended a quite ceremony to remember the 600,000 Hungarian Jews killed in the Holocaust. At a time when much attention focuses on the coronavirus pandemic, Justice Minister Judit Varga made clear those who died should never be forgotten. Dressed in black, she placed pebbles, flowers, and candles at the Shoes on the Danube embankment monument in Budapest, the capital.

President Reuven Rivlin has set August 4 as the date for an unthinkable round of fourth elections should the Likud and Blue and White fail to form a unity government, as negotiations between the two sides was deadlocked Thursday night.

Lebanese media have reported that on Wednesday afternoon an Israeli drone attacked a vehicle belonging to the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group, Hezbollah. The vehicle was in Syria, close to the border with Lebanon. There were no reports of any injuries from the strike.

Negotiating teams for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party continued their talks to form a unity government late Wednesday night and into Thursday, and agreed to meet again later Thursday, even as the latter’s presidential mandate to form a coalition expired at midnight.

Reliable testing remains one of the most crucial aspects in the global battle against the novel coronavirus. Scientists at Hebrew University in Jerusalem are tackling Israel’s test shortage by developing a new method of testing that they claim is cheaper and faster than the standard one.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz were given a further 48 hours to try and reach a coalition deal, the Times of Israel reports. President Reuven Rivlin agreed the short extension minutes before the midnight-on-Monday deadline that Gantz had been given to form a government.

With talks between the two leading candidates for Prime Minister sputtering again, Israeli President Reuben Rivlin warned Sunday that a fourth election could be forthcoming.

Israel’s High Court ruled Sunday that a petition to disqualify Benjamin Netanyahu from forming a new government was filed too early. The petition claims Netanyahu should be barred from leading the country because of the corruption charges he faces. Justice Alex Stein dismissed the petition on the grounds that President Reuven Rivlin has not asked Netanyahu to form a government coalition this time around. Nevertheless, the Times of Israel reports, the Court said the application could be renewed should Rivlin give Netanyahu such a mandate in due course.

Rabbis in Israel are calling for the reinstitution of the temple service as a means of averting plagues, pointing to the Passover sacrifice that saved the Israelites in Egypt as a model for understanding current events.

The Syrian military is continuing to support Hezbollah and allowing the terrorist group to gain a foothold in the Syrian Golan Heights, claimed IDF Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee on Twitter.

Israel’s president on Sunday turned down a request from Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz for a two-week extension to form a new coalition government.

Israeli officials say the government wants to gradually reopen the country’s economy hit hard by a coronavirus pandemic that overshadowed the Passover holiday. But in a setback for the tourism industry, regular flights will only resume in September, Israeli media reported Saturday.

Blue & White and Likud on Wednesday accused each other of stalling the negotiations to form a unity government and backing out of agreements.

A top Hezbollah commander close to Qassem Soleimani was assassinated in Lebanon Saturday night, following several months of seeming détente between the US and Iran.

The Sanhedrin is anxiously awaiting a response from the Israeli government about whether it will be able to perform the Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount for the first time since the second temple in the first century AD.

Rabbis in Israel are pointing to a portentous sign occurring on three major Jewish holidays this year as an indication that redemption and the construction of a third temple are imminent.

The country is in a near-total lockdown with residents forbidden from traveling more than 328 feet away from their homes. Health Ministry Deputy Director-General Itamar Grotto told Army Radio on Monday that Israel will probably enforce a full lockdown on Wednesday, the first night of Passover.