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.
European countries hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as New York, the epicenter of the outbreak in the US, have reported progress in fighting the coronavirus. There have been reports of lower daily death counts, slowing rates of infection and reductions in the numbers of patients admitted to intensive care units.
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.
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.
World powers scrambled on Thursday to build a global response to the human tragedy and once-in-a-century economic collapse caused by the coronavirus epidemic, as death tolls in the US and Europe soared higher.
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.
Many Jewish leaders are making surprising comments about the imminent arrival of the messiah, even suggesting that a savior figure could arrive as early as Passover.