Blue and White and Likud continued to disparage one another and express extreme skepticism about the possibility of building a coalition, even as the parties held talks to form a unity government.
Amid the backdrop of the threat of Iranian cruise missiles, Tehran’s influence in the Syrian civil war, and its proxy in Yemen, the Houthi rebel group, Israel Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin on Wednesday said, ‘The security challenge is becoming more complex. In addition to the missiles and rockets, there are also attack drones and cruise missiles now.’
Officials in the Blue and White and Likud parties reportedly warned Wednesday that Israel was on its way to a third national election in under a year, saying the chances of forming a unity government were increasingly slim.
US presidential adviser Jared Kushner urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz in separate meetings to work together to form a unity government in order to seize the ‘tremendous opportunities’ in the region, he said in an interview that aired Tuesday.
Arab nations have rejected any Israeli-Palestinian peace plan not based on the pre-1967 lines, as US special envoy Jared Kushner visited Israel and Saudi Arabia in advance of the publication of US President Donald Trump’s Deal of the Century to resolve the conflict.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday that Iran is seeking to develop and deploy guided weapons that can strike any point in the Middle East, including placing them in Yemen to strike Israel.
US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner visited Israel on Monday, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top rivals, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid of the Blue and White party.
US presidential adviser Jared Kushner is expected to meet on Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and prime ministerial hopeful Benny Gantz to test the political waters here and determine when it will be possible to release the oft-delayed US peace plan.
Blue and White leader MK Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Tel Aviv Sunday to negotiate terms for the establishment of a unity government in a round of talks that did not lead to any new developments besides a promise to meet again for further negotiations.
The IDF released its new five-year plan of operations on Thursday, with its chief of staff warning, ‘The situation is fragile in the north and south — and may deteriorate into a confrontation.’
President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday tasked Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz with trying to form a coalition government, two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was unable to do so when his allotted 28 days came to an end.
Blue and White’s Benny Gantz and Likud’s Benjamin Netanyahu will meet in the coming days to discuss the possibility of forming a unity government, the parties said on Wednesday night, hours after the centrist leader was tasked with forming a government where the incumbent premier failed.
The Blue and White party and other political opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejoiced over the Likud leader’s inability to form a government, and President Reuven Rivlin’s announcement he would give Benny Gantz the next crack at assembling a coalition.
Hosting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday as President Donald Trump’s policy changes on Syria spark concern among Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Pompeo and Trump for their ‘consistent support for Israel’ and hailed the strength of US-Israel ties. Commenting on the US-arranged ceasefire in Turkey’s offensive in Syria against Kurdish fighters, the prime minister said mildly that he hoped it would ‘turn out for the best.’
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz is reportedly planning to invite representatives of Yisrael Beytenu and Likud to talks on forming a unity government if he is tasked with forming a coalition next week.
US President Donald Trump’s newly announced withdrawal of nearly all US troops from northern Syria has cemented Russia’s status as the predominant global military power actively engaged in the Middle East.
The US administration’s much-anticipated peace plan will not call for the uprooting of even a single settler, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said Wednesday, drawing sharp criticism from Ramallah.
Despite the current impasse in the Israeli coalition talks, signs emerged on Wednesday that a path to a unity government might be opening, with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz reportedly expressing a positive attitude toward such an arrangement.
US President Donald Trump swore allegiance to Israel as he decried endless Middle East wars and defended his decision to withdraw US troops from the Kurdish area of northern Syria, when he spoke at the annual Values Voters Conference in Washington.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s mandate to form a government will not be extended beyond the Thursday, October 24, deadline, sources close to President Reuven Rivlin said on Saturday night, confirming a report on Channel 12.