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.
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.
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.
The Israeli government is surrounding ultra-orthodox neighborhoods with police barricades as punishment for the unwillingness of the Haredi to abide by government regulations.
All Israelis must wear face masks while in public as a precaution against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
Israel’s most senior Health Minister has tested positive for coronavirus, government officials confirmed Thursday. Yaakov Litzman has entered isolation together with his wife, who also tested positive. Litzman is part of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community which, according to unofficial figures cited by Israeli TV channels Sunday, make up half the country’s hospitalized coronavirus patients.
Interim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz were said in some reports to be inching closer to forming a unity coalition, with claims that the government could be sworn in as early as next Monday, but other sources said squabbles within the premier’s bloc were complicating the negotiations.
Israel’s ultra-orthodox Haredi community is facing fines and arrests for resisting draconian government regulations that forbid prayer services and prevent a person from walking 328 feet outside their home except in emergencies.
Israel’s High Court of Justice Thursday ordered a vote on the future of Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein which saw him step down, as Blue and White leader Benny Gantz filled his shoes and signaled the formation of a “national emergency government” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A Jewish rabbi is expecting the Messiah to be revealed around Passover this year in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, citing a prophecy about a global pandemic from the main text of the mystical Kabbalah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz discussed the possibility of setting up an emergency government to tackle the coronavirus Wednesday, taking a rare step toward a much-touted unity coalition.
Coronavirus phone tracking doesn’t just tell governments more or less where their citizens are, but can also show the phone owners’ ‘micro-environment’ and provide a treasure trove of information about their physical surroundings, a systems engineer behind key technology being used in the battle against the spread of coronavirus has revealed.