A full 68 hours after the polling stations closed and exit polls predicted a surge for Likud and its right-wing bloc, the Central Elections Committee on Thursday confirmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party as the largest after Monday’s general election, with final results giving it 36 seats to rival Blue and White’s 33.
As votes cast in so-called double envelopes in the Knesset elections were being tallied, the Central Election Committee updated the count Wednesday morning, giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the centrist rival Blue and White led by Benny Gantz an extra seat apiece, leaving the premier’s bloc of right-wing supporters at 58 seats.
The Israel Defense Forces called off a major air defense exercise with the United States on Wednesday night, a day after it launched, following stricter safety restrictions issued by the Health Ministry aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Damascus said early Thursday that Israel was carrying out airstrikes in central and southern Syria and that its air defenses had engaged the missiles.
With 92% of the vote counted Tuesday from unprecedented third elections in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing bloc were slated to beat rival Benny Gantz and the Blue and White party with 59 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
President Reuven Rivlin is set to task a candidate with forming a government on or before March 17, the same day Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial begins.
Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday ordered the Islamic Republic’s armed forces to assist its Health Ministry in combating the spread of the new coronavirus.
Iran has nearly tripled its stockpile of enriched uranium over the last three months in violation of its deal with world powers and is refusing to answer questions about three possible undeclared nuclear sites, the UN nuclear watchdog agency said Tuesday.
Smashing worries about voter fatigue and virus fears, authorities said Monday that Israelis were streaming to the polls in higher numbers than have been seen in years.
Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in the Israel’s elections on Monday night, despite exit polls pointing to his right-wing bloc being below the 61-MK target he needs to form a government.
Three major exit polls in Israel showed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Likud poised to win 36 to 37 seats as elections concluded Monday, far outstripping the 32 to 33 seats predicted for left-wing rival Benny Gantz and the Blue and White party.
As part of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the IDF Coordination of Government Activities in the territories (COGAT), Israel allowed the entry of cattle and other goods into the Palestinian territories, according to a COGAT press release.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Sunday that his party’s internal polling showed he was a stone’s throw away from a Knesset majority that would allow the formation of a right-wing government.
The Knesset election on Monday will go down in history as the most unique Israel has had so far: It will have been the first time Israelis go to the polls for the third time in less than a year, with the total cost to the economy being at least NIS 9 billion ($2.6 billion) in lost productivity.
The presidents of Turkey and Russia spoke by phone Friday to try to defuse tensions that rose significantly in Syria after at least 33 Turkish troops were killed in an airstrike blamed on the Syrian government, and a new wave of refugees and migrants headed for the Greek land and sea border after Turkey said it would no longer hold them back.
In a dramatic development for same-sex couples in Israel, the country’s top court struck down on Thursday a law that blocks single men and gay couples from using surrogacy to have children — giving the Knesset a year to pass a new law.
Israeli scientists are on the cusp of developing the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus, according to Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis. If all goes as planned, the vaccine could be ready within a few weeks and available in 90 days, according to a release.
“Congratulations to MIGAL [The Galilee Research Institute] on this exciting breakthrough,” Akunis said. “I am confident there will be further rapid progress, enabling us to provide a needed response to the grave global COVID-19 threat,” Akunis said, referring to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Israeli defense minister Naftali Bennett virtually announced a new war with Hamas in Gaza Tuesday, a day after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group launched 80 rockets and mortars into Israel.
Days before Israel’s third election in a year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks slated to overcome rival Benny Gantz, but not to win handily enough to become Prime Minister outright without help from other parties.
There are currently 1,600 Israelis in quarantine for coronavirus all across the country, stretching from Kiryat Shmona in the very north all the way down to Be’er Sheva in the south.