JERUSALEM — In what appear to be the final days of his historic 12-year rule, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not leaving the political stage quietly.

The longtime leader is accusing his opponents of betraying their voters, and some have needed special security protection.

Netanyahu says he is the victim of a “deep state” conspiracy. He speaks in apocalyptic terms when talking about the country without his leadership.

“They are uprooting the good and replacing it with the bad and dangerous,” Netanyahu told the conservative Channel 20 TV station this week. “I fear for the destiny of the nation.”

Such language has made for tense days as Netanyahu and his loyalists make a final desperate push to try to prevent a new government from taking office on Sunday. With his options running out, it has also provided a preview of Netanyahu as the opposition leader.

For those who have watched Netanyahu dominate Israeli politics for much of the past quarter-century, his recent behavior is familiar.

He frequently describes threats both large and small in stark terms. He has belittled his rivals and thrived by using divide-and-conquer tactics. He paints his Jewish opponents as weak, self-hating “leftists,” and Arab politicians as a potential fifth column of terrorist sympathizers. He routinely presents himself in grandiose terms as the only person capable of leading the country through its never-ending security challenges.

“Under his term, identity politics are at an all-time high,” said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a non-partisan think tank.

It is a formula that has served Netanyahu well. He has led the right-wing Likud party with an iron fist for over 15 years, racking up a string of electoral victories that earned him the nickname, “King Bibi.”

He fended off pressure by President Barack Obama to make concessions to the Palestinians and publicly defied him in 2015 by delivering a speech in Congress against the U.S.-led nuclear agreement with Iran.

Although Netanyahu was unable to block the deal, he was richly rewarded by President Donald Trump, who recognized contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, pulled out of the nuclear agreement, and helped broker historic diplomatic pacts between Israel and four Arab nations.

Netanyahu has waged what appears to be a highly successful shadow war against Iran while keeping Israel’s longstanding conflict with the Palestinians at a slow boil, with the exception of three brief wars with Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers.

The situation with the Palestinians today is “remarkably the same” as when Netanyahu took office, Plesner said. “No major changes in either direction, no annexation, and no diplomatic breakthroughs.”

But some of Netanyahu’s tactics now appear to be coming back to haunt him. The new Biden administration has been cool to the Israeli leader, while Netanyahu’s close relationship with Trump has alienated large segments of the Democratic Party.

At home, Netanyahu’s magic also has dissipated — in large part due to his trial on corruption charges. He has lashed out at an ever-growing list of perceived enemies: the media, the judiciary, police, centrists, leftists, and even hard-line nationalists who were once close allies.

In four consecutive elections since 2019, the once-invincible Netanyahu was unable to secure a parliamentary majority. Facing the unappealing possibility of a fifth consecutive election, eight parties managed to assemble a majority coalition that is set to take office on Sunday.

Israeli politics are usually split between dovish, left-wing parties that seek a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians, and religious and nationalist parties — long led by Netanyahu — that oppose Palestinian independence. If any of the recent elections had centered on the conflict, then right-wing parties alone would have formed a strong, stable majority.

But the Palestinians hardly came up — another legacy of Netanyahu, who has pushed the issue to the sidelines.

Instead, all anyone seemed to talk about was Netanyahu’s personality and his legal troubles, which proved to be deeply polarizing. The incoming government includes three small parties led by former Netanyahu aides who had bitter breakups with him, including the presumed prime minister, Naftali Bennett.

Bennett and his right-wing partners even broke a longstanding taboo on allying with Arab parties. A small Islamist party, which Netanyahu had also courted, is to be the first to join a ruling coalition.

Netanyahu and his followers in Likud have grown increasingly desperate. Initially, Netanyahu tried to lure some “defectors” from his former allies to prevent them from securing a parliamentary majority.

When that failed, he resorted to language similar to that of his friend and benefactor Trump.

“We are witnesses to the greatest election fraud in the history of the country,” Netanyahu claimed at a Likud meeting this week. He has long dismissed the corruption trial as a “witch hunt” fueled by “fake news,” and in the TV interview he said he was being hounded by the “deep state.”

His supporters have held threatening rallies outside the homes of lawmakers joining the new government. Some of the parliamentarians say they and their families have received death threats, and one said she was recently followed by a mysterious car.

Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox partners have meanwhile cast Bennett as a threat to their religion, with one even calling on him to remove his kippa, the skullcap worn by observant Jews.

Online incitement by Netanyahu’s followers has grown so bad that several members of the incoming government were assigned bodyguards or even moved to secret locations.

Some Israelis have drawn comparisons to the tensions that led to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January, while others have pointed to the incitement ahead of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

In a rare public statement, Nadav Argaman, the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, recently warned of a “serious rise and radicalization in violent and inciting discourse” on social media that he said could lead to violence.

Netanyahu has condemned the incitement while noting that he too has been a target.

Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at Hebrew University, said she expects the coming months to remain volatile.

“We’re going to see a very assertive and aggressive head of the opposition, meaning Netanyahu, determined to make sure that this coalition of change would be a short-lived one and that we will have another election as soon as possible,” she added.

“We don’t have even a memory of what normal politics looks like,” Talshir said.

———

Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israels-netanyahu-lashes-end-era-draws-78201625

The post Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out as end of his era draws near first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday failed to meet a midnight deadline to put together a new governing coalition, raising the possibility that his Likud party could be pushed into the opposition for the first time in 12 years.

The deadline closed a four-week window granted to Netanyahu by Israel’s figurehead president. The matter now bounces back to President Reuven Rivlin, who announced just after midnight that he would contact on Wednesday the 13 parties with seats in parliament to discuss “the continuation of the process of forming a government.”

Rivlin is expected in the coming days to give one of Netanyahu’s opponents a chance to form an alternative coalition government. He also could ask the parliament to select one of its own members as prime minister. If all else fails, the country would be forced into another election this fall — the fifth in just over two years.

The turmoil does not mean that Netanyahu will immediately be forced out as prime minister. But he now faces a serious threat to his lengthy rule just as his corruption trial is kicking into high gear. His opponents, despite deep ideological differences, already have been holding informal talks in recent weeks in hopes of forging a power-sharing agreement.

Netanyahu had struggled to secure a parliamentary majority since March 23 — when elections ended in deadlock for the fourth consecutive time in the past two years. Despite repeated meetings with many of his rivals and unprecedented outreach to the leader of a small Islamist Arab party, Netanyahu was unable to close a deal.

“The Israeli people have taken one blow after another: a pandemic, unemployment, ugly politics, loss of faith in leadership, and deep polarization,” he said. “We can work everything out within a matter of hours. It is our duty to form a government as swiftly as possible for the sake of the state of Israel and all of its citizens.”

Netanyahu has become a divisive figure in Israeli politics, with the last four elections all seen as a referendum on his rule. He has been desperate to remain in office while he stands trial, using his position to lash out at prosecutors and seek possible immunity from prosecution.

Most of his struggles stemmed from obstacles created by former allies in his own religious and nationalist base.

The New Hope party, led by a former Netanyahu aide, refused to serve under the prime minister because of deep personal differences. Religious Zionism, a far-right party that espouses an openly racist platform, supported Netanyahu but ruled out serving in a government with the Arab partners he has courted.

Bennett, who has had a strained relationship with Netanyahu, was unable to reach any agreements with his former mentor.

Looming over Netanyahu has been his corruption trial. Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust, and bribery in a series of scandals. The trial has moved into the witness phase, with embarrassing testimony accusing him of trading favors with a powerful media mogul. Netanyahu denies the charges.

In recent weeks, Netanyahu had appeared increasingly frustrated, coddling potential partners one day and then lashing out at them with vitriol the next.

Last week’s deadly stampede at a religious festival, in which 45 ultra-Orthodox Jews were killed, only complicated his task by creating an unwelcome diversion and calls for an official investigation into possible negligence on his watch.

Netanyahu has also suffered a series of embarrassing — and uncharacteristic — defeats in parliament. On Tuesday, Likud failed to push ahead a proposal calling for the direct election of the prime minister. Opponents had panned the measure as a desperate attempt by Netanyahu to find a new way to hold on to power.

Despite all of Netanyahu’s vulnerabilities, it remains unclear whether his opponents can form an alternative government.

The opposition includes a vast spectrum of parties that have little in common except for their animosity toward Netanyahu. He is expected to do his utmost in the coming weeks to prevent his opponents from finalizing a deal.

If they fail, he would remain in office until the next election. That would give him several months to battle his corruption charges from the perch of the prime minister’s office and grant him yet another chance to win a new term, along with possible immunity.

___

Associated Press writer Ilan Ben Zion contributed to this report.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-religion-government-and-politics-a21c738633a196bb4149fe3054ee75b3

The post Netanyahu misses deadline, political future in question first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Screen capture from video of Likud MK Miki Zohar chairing a meeting of the Knesset Arrangements Committee, April 19, 2021. (Knesset Channel)

Hours after his Likud party suffered a stinging surprise defeat in a Knesset vote on forming a key committee, the party’s faction chief, MK Miki Zohar, said that the party now realizes that it will be heading into the opposition, rather than forming a government.

As he chaired a first meeting of the Arrangements Committee, Zohar said, “We understand and internalize that we are on the way to the opposition.”

“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will lead the opposition,” he said. “We will go with our heads held high.”

Directing his remarks at opposition lawmakers, Zohar added, “Believe me, you won’t have an easy time with us.”

MK Ze’ev Elkin, a former confidant of Netanyahu who nonetheless left the party ahead of the March elections to join the rival New Hope, which is committed to replacing the prime minister, responded by questioning whether Netanyahu was of the same opinion as Zohar.

“It is interesting to know what they will say at Balfour,” he tweeted, referring to the Jerusalem street where the prime minister’s official residence is located. “It seems to me that this will not be Miki Zohar’s day.”

Some Likud figures have suggested to Netanyahu that he already tell President Reuven Rivlin he is giving up efforts to form a coalition, despite having another 15 days to complete the task, Channel 12 reported.

It was during a Knesset vote earlier in the evening on forming the Arrangements Committee that the ruling Likud suffered defeat after its proposal for the makeup of the committee was rejected in favor of a counter-proposal from the anti-Netanyahu bloc of parties.

As a result, though Zohar chairs the committee, the bloc of parties seeking to replace Netanyahu has more seats than those allied with the prime minister.

The Arrangements Committee, the first Knesset committee to be formed after an election, controls the legislative agenda in the new parliament until a new government is formed. This includes determining what other parliamentary committees will be formed and who will serve on them. With an ongoing political deadlock complicating the formation of a coalition, the influence of the Arrangements Committee could be amplified.

Immediately after the vote to approve its formation, the committee set to work, though it quickly ran into a dispute, as Zohar refused to bring to a vote proposals coming from the anti-Netanyahu bloc.

Zohar also suffered a setback when his suggestion that there be two deputy Knesset speakers was voted down.

Likud’s defeat on building the Arrangements Committee came after Ra’am, an Arab Islamist party, voted against its proposal and backed the alternative, suggested by MK Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party.

Ra’am’s cooperation with Lapid came after the party had been courting both Knesset blocs during negotiations to form a government. Netanyahu is hoping to build a government based on outside support from Ra’am, but the idea has been rejected outright by the far-right Religious Zionism party, which has repeatedly said it will not stay in a coalition that relies on cooperation with Arab Israeli parties.

To form a majority in the Knesset, Netanyahu would need to have Religious Zionism and the right-wing Yamina party on board, as well as outside support from Ra’am.

In the wake of Ra’am voting to stop the Likud proposal, Religious Zionism lawmakers remarked that it further strengthened their view that a government cannot in any way be dependent on Ra’am, even for outside support.

Yamina chief Naftali Bennett, who wants to be prime minister himself, has not yet committed to either the pro- or anti-Netanyahu blocs, but has vowed to do everything he can to prevent a fifth round of elections, following four inconclusive votes in the past two years.

With Ra’am openly cooperating with the opposition on such a significant development and said to have received assurances from Lapid that it will be given key legislative positions if he is given the chance to form a government, Netanyahu’s hopes of cobbling together a coalition appeared to be fading.

If Netanyahu fails to form a government or returns his mandate to do so, Rivlin can offer the mandate to Lapid, who is next in line in terms of the number of MKs who recommended him for the task, or ask the Knesset to choose another lawmaker.

Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-defeat-in-key-vote-likud-whip-concedes-netanyahu-wont-form-government/

The post After defeat in key vote, Likud whip concedes Netanyahu won’t form government first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Binyamin and Sara Netanyahu – Reuters

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is troubled by one scenario that may come true: a right-wing government with the participation of the Haredi parties and Religious Zionism, along with Naftali Bennett, Gideon Sa’ar, Benny Gantz, and possibly Yair Lapid.

Despite Lapid’s possible participation, it would be difficult to define such a government as a left-wing government. The scenario may become practical only at the last minute if it becomes the only way to avoid a fifth election.

Channel 12 News reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu said in closed conversations: “If Bennett joins – I will be able to form a coalition of 61. If I had 59, I would already have 61, Bennett is not really with me.” People close to Netanyahu raised the possibility of giving up the premiership and running for president, but he, in turn, rejected the proposal for the time being and prefers to continue running for prime minister as Likud chairman.

On the other side of the political map is a power struggle between Bennett and Sa’ar who are on the right and Yair Lapid who leads the center-left. Bennett and Sa’ar are angry with Lapid. According to them, he is collecting recommendations, even though he has no ability to form a government with them in his current situation.

Meanwhile, United Torah Judaism chairman Moshe Gafni is angry with Prime Minister Netanyahu for his reluctance to work with United Arab List chairman Mansour Abbas to form a government.

Gafni said that “Netanyahu, who built up Smotrich, will reap what he sowed. Now Smotrich is the one who decides who can go in the coalition.

At the same time, it is estimated that five of the six members of the Joint List will recommend that President Reuven Rivlin impose the mandate to form the government on Yair Lapid. On the other hand, it appears that UAL chairman Mansour Abbas intends to support Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/299336

The post Netanyahu’s nightmare scenario first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

“We will harm anyone who will try to harm us and who harms us,” he said. “This principle remains intact.”

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/netanyahu-warns-israels-neighbors-637319

The post Netanyahu warns Israel’s neighbors: We will harm those who threaten us first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival, Benny Gantz, have signed an agreement to form an emergency unity government.

The deal will see the pair rotating the leadership of the country, with Mr Netanyahu going first as PM.

It brings political certainty to Israel after three inconclusive elections and a year of political paralysis.

Both men had faced calls to avoid a fourth election and form a coalition to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The Israeli health ministry has reported more than 13,700 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 177 associated deaths.

• Netanyahu: Commando turned PM
• Gantz: Who is Netanyahu’s biggest challenger?

Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gantz signed the coalition deal at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday night, as Israel remained in near-total lockdown.

“I promised the State of Israel a national emergency government that will act to save the lives and livelihoods of Israeli citizens,” Mr Netanyahu tweeted afterwards.

Mr Gantz wrote: “We have prevented a fourth election. We will protect democracy. We will fight coronavirus and care for all Israel’s citizens.”

The agreement will see positions in the government shared between Mr Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party and Mr Gantz’s centrist Blue and White alliance.

More than 13,700 Israelis have so far tested positive for Covid-19 – AFP

Mr Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, will remain in post for 18 months, during which time his delayed trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust is due to start. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Gantz, a former military chief who was elected speaker of parliament three weeks ago, will start off by serving as deputy prime minister and defence minister, before taking over as prime minister in October 2021 for another 18 months.

No legislation unrelated to the battle against the coronavirus will be brought before parliament for a period of six months without consent, according to the agreement.

However, Mr Netanyahu will be allowed to advance legislation to annex Jewish settlements and other land in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinians want as part of a future state – in line with the peace plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump in January. The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

The BBC’s Tom Bateman in Jerusalem says the agreement marks an end to one of the most turbulent periods in Israeli political history and amounts to a victory for Mr Netanyahu, who stays in office despite a criminal indictment and a country deeply divided over his leadership.

Mr Gantz, our correspondent adds, has ditched half of the political alliance he built over three elections – it had fractured under the strain of Mr Netanyahu’s manoeuvres, with the coronavirus emergency providing a backdrop of urgency.

Hundreds of Israelis protested on Sunday against a deal keeping Mr Netanyahu in office -Reuters

Some of Mr Gantz’s former allies accused him of betrayal by joining his former adversary in government.

He had pledged not to serve under Mr Netanyahu because he was facing criminal charges. But he backtracked last month, saying that “these are not normal times and they call for unusual decisions”.

Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party was quoted by the Jerusalem Post newspaper as saying: “The man who was supposed to be the prime minister who would bring change decided to raise a white flag instead of winning.”

“This is not an emergency government, but there is an emergency situation for our democracy,” she added.

US ambassador David Friedman said he was “delighted” by the agreement.

“The United States looks forward to working closely with the new gov’t to advance our shared values and interests bilaterally and across the world,” he tweeted.

But Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh condemned the formation of “an Israeli annexation government”, which he said meant “ending the two-state solution and the dismantling of the rights of the people of Palestine as established under international law and resolutions”.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52358479

The post Israel’s Netanyahu and Gantz sign unity government deal first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to supporters following the announcement of exit polls in Israel’s election at his Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv on March 3, 2020. (photo credit: AMIR COHEN – REUTERS)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on track to win 59 seats for his bloc of right-wing and religious parties in Monday’s election, down by one from the 60 predicted by the initial exit polls. The new prediction leaves him two short of a majority in the Knesset.

The first polls indicated that Netanyahu’s Likud won 36-37 seats. Its allies in Shas, UTJ and Yamina won 9, 7-8 and 6-7 respectively. The polls showed Blue and White with 33 seats, its ally Labor-Gesher-Meretz with 6-7, the Joint List 14-15 and Yisrael Beytenu 6-8.
When Channel 13 updated its numbers at around 1 a.m. Israel time, however, Gantz gained one seat to 34 and the blocs shifted slightly, leaving the right-wing with only 59 seats.

Channel 12 also updated its numbers, giving Likud 37 seats, Blue and White 32, Arab Joint List 15, Shas 9, Yisrael Beytenu 7, UTJ 7, Labor-Gesher-Meretz 7 and Yamina 6.

However, by 4 a.m., Kan News gave Likud 36 seats and Blue and White 33, with the right bloc also holding a total of 59.

The numbers are expected to continue to change. The votes of soldiers, who tend to lean to the right, have not yet been counted and the Joint List tends to lose a seat when the soldiers’ votes are added. But, if the Right does not obtain its 61st seat, it could end up being because the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party refused Netanyahu’s repeated requests to quit the race.

First Exit Polls

Netanyahu immediately tweeted “thank you.”

The outright victory in the third election in under a year is expected to enable Netanyahu to quickly form a right-wing coalition after having headed a caretaker government since December 2018.

Netanyahu spoke to the heads of the parties in his camp immediately after the exit polls were announced, and agreed to form a strong nationalist government as soon as possible.

Sources in Likud said he would even try to get a government in place before his criminal trial begins on March 17.

Blue and White MKs expressed disappointment with the results but said they did not expect the party to break up. They dismissed speculation that party leader Benny Gantz would quit politics.

Gantz seemed to support this, thanking his supporters and telling them: “I will continue to struggle for our ideology for you.”

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman also responded: “We have to wait for the final results. Yisrael Beytenu won’t compromise a millimeter from what it promised its voters.”

THE HIGH turnout in the country’s unprecedented third election in under a year showed no signs of voter apathy, as citizens cast ballots in an attempt to end the political stalemate.

Voter turnout was 71%, continuing its from 69.83% in September and 68.46% in April. There were more than 200,000 voters casting ballots on Monday who had not voted in September.

The turnout was even higher among the 5,630 people quarantined due to exposure to the coronavirus, among whom 4,076 (72.4%) voted in special polling stations despite long lines.

Earlier on Monday, both Netanyahu and Gantz expressed concern about what they claimed was lower turnout in areas where their parties had done well in recent elections.

Gantz and his No. 2, Yair Lapid, went to the streets of Tel Aviv with megaphones begging people to vote, and MKs Gabi Ashkenazi and Moshe Ya’alon were sent to other Blue and White strongholds. Sources in the party said that turnout in Tel Aviv was ridiculously low, well behind the rest of the country.

Netanyahu went to Ma’aleh Adumim and complained about low turnout in Judea and Samaria and development towns in the South. He went on Facebook Live all day, urging Likud supporters to vote. The Likud complained that the press had made it look like the party was well ahead, discouraging its supporters from voting in the final hours.

There were complaints all day to the Central Elections Committee about forgeries and hidden ballots. Blue and White complained that the Likud campaign had doctored a video of Gantz.

In the original video, Gantz warned the party’s supporters: “If you don’t put Blue and White in the ballot box, there will be a fourth election.” The doctored version had him only saying “Don’t put Blue and White in the ballot box.”

The head of the committee, Supreme Court Judge Neal Hendel, forced Likud to remove the video from its Facebook and Instagram pages and to pay a fine of NIS 7,500 to Blue and White.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Benjamin-Netanyahus-Right-bloc-wins-majority-exit-polls-619513

The post Benjamin Netanyahu defeats Gantz, but is still short a majority first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

People walk next to election campaign billboards for Likud Party, shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and the Blue and White party, the opposition party led by Benny Gantz, left, in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sunday, March. 1, 2020. Israel heads into its third election in less than a year on Monday, March 2nd. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is holding its third election in less than a year on Monday, with over 6.4 million eligible voters set to cast their ballots for the 23rd Knesset, or parliament. With the actors all the same as the last round in September and pre-election opinion polls predicting similar results, weary Israelis are still hoping to see an end to the year-long deadlock that has paralyzed national politics.

Here is a closer look at what to expect:

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM

The March 2 vote is Israel’s third parliamentary election in under a year, an unprecedented situation for the 71-year-old country. The third election was called after neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main rival, former army chief Benny Gantz, succeeded in forming a governing coalition following the Sept. 17 election. The Knesset voted to dissolve itself and send the country to yet another election. A similar deadlock followed elections last April.

THE BIG NAMES

Netanyahu, who has been prime minister for over a decade, is seeking what would be his fifth term overall, including an earlier stint in the 1990s. In July, Netanyahu secured a place in history as the country’s longest-serving prime minister, surpassing Israel’s founding father David Ben-Gurion. He faces tough opposition from Gantz, whose Blue and White party seeks to replace Netanyahu’s long-dominant Likud.

VETERAN VS. CLEAN SHEET

For the third time running, the main contenders remain Netanyahu and Gantz. Netanyahu has campaigned on his experience and diplomatic accomplishments, pointing to his opponent’s inexperience. Gantz has stumped on Netanyahu’s inability to serve under the shadow of a looming trial on corruption charges.

Netanyahu was indicted on fraud, breach of trust and bribery charges in November. He had sought immunity from prosecution from parliament but later rescinded his request. His trial is scheduled to begin on March 17, just two weeks after election day.

Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing and says he’s the victim of a witch hunt by police, prosecutors and the media. The election is widely seen as a referendum on his character and ability to govern while facing criminal charges.

THE CONTENDERS

All 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, are up for grabs. Twenty-nine parties are competing, including the large front-runners, ultra-Orthodox religious parties, Arab factions and fringe movements.

But only a handful are expected to garner the 3.25% of the vote necessary to break the electoral threshold and earn the minimum four seats in parliament.

TURNOUT AND FATIGUE

Israeli elections tend to have robust turnout. Election day is a national holiday, a measure aimed at encouraging participation.

In both of last year’s elections, turnout was about 69%, slightly below the 72% figure in the 2015 vote.

But with voter fatigue high after the repeat elections, it remains to be seen whether parties’ efforts to get out the vote will succeed.

ROUND FOUR?

No Israeli party has ever won an outright majority, which forces the larger parties to form blocs with smaller allies.

After the election, Israel’s president will meet with party heads and select the party he believes is most capable of forming a coalition. That party, which is usually but not always the largest faction, then has four weeks to form a coalition. A new government will be given a four-year term, but disagreements between coalition parties often result in early elections.

Preelection polls point to a similar outcome as September’s election, suggesting Likud and Blue and White could both struggle to form a coalition. Whether the two parties can agree to form a unity government — something they couldn’t do after the last election — remains a remote possibility to break the year-long political deadlock.

Recent opinion polls have indicated softening support for Blue and White, giving Netanyahu a remote chance of claiming victory.

Another key player could be the secular, ultranationalist party Yisrael Beitenu, whose leader, Avigdor Lieberman, has refused to commit to either side. The predominantly Arab Joint List is also expected to make a strong showing. While an Arab-led party has never served in a government, the Joint List could provide external support to push Gantz over the top.

Another possible outcome is that there is once again no clear winner and Israelis will head to the polls for an unprecedented fourth vote.

___

Follow Ilan Ben Zion on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IlanBenZion

Source: https://apnews.com/2445d92222cc13de54c55cc64d5376eb

The post AP Explains: Israel’s upcoming vote, its 3rd in under a year first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly Cabinet meeting, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, on Dec. 1, 2019. Photo by Marc Israel Sellem/POOL.

(December 24, 2019, / JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a meeting of an inter-ministerial team that was deliberating the annexation of the Jordan Valley following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to launch a probe into alleged Israeli “war crimes” against the Palestinians, Ynet reported on Tuesday.

The meeting was supposed to take place over the past weekend but was canceled at the last minute after ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the plans on Friday for the broad investigation against Israel, said sources quoted in the report.

Netanyahu had announced in September that he planned to establish sovereignty in the Jordan Valley if his Likud Party would win the elections. Netanyuah

“Because of the prosecutor’s decision in the Hague, the issue of the Jordan Valley annexation will be put on a long hold,” said one government source, according to Ynet.

Netanyahu on Sunday slammed International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for announcing her organization’s intention to conduct a broad investigation of Israel for “war crimes,” calling the announcement “absurd” and accusing the ICC of having become a weapon in the hands of Israel’s enemies.

“While we are moving forward in new areas of hope and peace with our Arab neighbors, the ICC in The Hague has taken a step backward,” said Netanyahu.

Source: https://www.jns.org/report-netanyahu-puts-jordan-valley-annexation-on-hold/

The post Report: Netanyahu puts Jordan Valley annexation on hold first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The news comes as Netanyahu, leader of Israel’s conservative Likud Party, and Benny Gantz, leader of the more liberal Blue and White party, have both tried and failed to form governing coalitions after neither party won a majority in Israel’s parliament — the Knesset — during September’s national elections.

As Axios reported, this is the first time that an Israeli prime minister will be charged with a crime while he’s in office.

The allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust stemming from three cases, known as Case 4000, Case 2000 and Case 1000.

“Case 4000 is considered the most serious,” the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, “and revolves around an alleged bribery deal between Netanyahu and businessman Shaul Elovich, who controlled the Bezeq telecommunications company and the Walla News site.”

Netanyahu, who’s facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in Case 4000 alone, is accused of using his position as communications minister to benefit Elovich’s business interests in return for favorable news coverage.

“The defendant Netanyahu took the aforementioned illicit benefits from the Elovitches, knowing he was taking a bribe as a public official for his actions related to his public role,” the indictment against Netanyahu reads, according to The Times of Israel.

“In return for these benefits, the defendant Netanyahu executed his authority while making use of his high-ranking position to carry out actions benefiting the defendant Elovitch in a significant manner, while deviating from orderly conduct.”

Netanyahu’s defense attorneys have countered by claiming the prime minister simply pushed for balanced news coverage, and that communications ministry staffers approved of all decisions he made.

Netanyahu is also facing charges of fraud and breach of trust in Case 2000. The Israeli prime minister allegedly met with Arnon Mozes, who publishes the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper and discussed a deal in which Netanyahu would “try to limit the circulation of rival newspaper Israel Hayom, and in return, Mozes would give Netanyahu favorable coverage,” Haaretz reported.

Finally, Netanyahu also faces fraud and breach of trust charges in Case 1000 “for allegedly receiving illicit gifts such as champagne, cigars and jewelry valued at some NIS 700,000 ($201,000) from billionaire benefactors Arnon Milchan and James Packer, and allegedly reciprocating in Milchan’s case with various forms of assistance,” according to The Times.

But Netanyahu’s attorneys have argued that “it is allowed to receive gifts from friends.”

Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history, having held the position since 2009, and before that between 1996 and 1999.

As things currently stand, any member of the Knesset can, over the next three weeks, become prime minister by accumulating the signatures of a majority of lawmakers in the parliamentary body.

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If that does not happen, then another round of national elections is likely.

According to NBC News, Netanyahu has characterized the accusations against him as a “witch hunt” perpetrated by the left and the media.

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Source: https://www.westernjournal.com/benjamin-netanyahu-indicted-bribery-fraud-breach-trust-charges/

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