Israel rejected offers of truce on behalf of the Hamas terrorist group, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, at a meeting of the top military brass and security officials occasioned by the sharp escalation between the Jewish state and Gaza-based Islamists.
Israel declared a state of emergency in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod on Wednesday after Mayor Yair Revivo said a “civil war between Arabs and Jews,” was taking place there. The rioting, including the torching of three synagogues and the death of an Arab man, began on Monday after Arab residents took to the streets in support of Palestinians clashing with police on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The United Nations says it fears a “full-scale war” amid ongoing deadly exchanges between Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli military.
Church leaders have expressed concern about the future of Jerusalem and its neighborhood as several people were killed Tuesday in nearly non-stop Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the Gaza terrorist had “crossed a red line” by firing dozens of rockets into Israel’s south.
Palestinian officials in the Gaza Strip claimed Monday that some 20 people were killed in fighting with Israel in one of the bloodiest clashes in years.
The factions looking to replace Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister are close to reaching a coalition agreement paving the way for a new government, senior opposition officials said Sunday night.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ran out of time to form a new government and, on Wednesday evening, President Reuven Rivlin asked Yair Lapid, who leads the centrist Yesh Atid party, to try and form a coalition. Yesh Atid gained the second-highest number of seats in the March 23 election, after Netanyahu’s Likud party.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ran out of time to form a new government and, on Wednesday evening, President Reuven Rivlin asked Yair Lapid, who leads the centrist Yesh Atid party, to try and form a coalition. Yesh Atid gained the second-highest number of seats in the March 23 election, after Netanyahu’s Likud party.
President Reuven Rivlin will likely tap Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid with forming the next government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fails to do so by the Tuesday night deadline, but will likely not consider offering it to Yamina leader Naftali Bennett, according to Hebrew media reports.
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz on Sunday ruled out joining a government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling lawmakers in his party that he is fully committed to the so-called “change bloc” that seeks to remove the Likud leader from power.
Negotiating teams from the Yesh Atid, Yamina, and New Hope factions met Thursday morning to discuss the terms for a possible alternative government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, running out of time to form a coalition, is reportedly willing to offer former ally Gideon Sa’ar a rotation deal with the current New Hope leader to serve first as prime minister, Hebrew media reported Monday.
The High Court of Justice on Thursday rejected a petition seeking Benjamin Netanyahu’s removal as prime minister over his ongoing criminal trial.
With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to form a coalition still in dire straits Wednesday, he and Yamina party chief Naftali Bennett held dueling press conferences in which they accused each other of putting their own personal interests above the needs of the country, and of misleading the public.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer seeking a government that relies on the outside support of the Ra’am Party (United Arab List), he said Tuesday at a press conference in the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a major blow on Monday and lost control of the Knesset after his opponents defeated him in a key parliamentary vote.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday expressed support for a direct election for the premier as a way of ending Israel’s two-year cycle of inconclusive elections and to prevent a potential fifth national vote since April 2019.
A new effort to reintroduce direct elections for prime minister is reportedly being advanced by right-wing party leaders in a bid to break the political logjam, block Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid’s path to the premiership, and prevent a fifth consecutive Knesset election.
Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror came to an end on Wednesday evening with sadness giving way to joy in a state ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem to mark the start of the country’s Independence Day.