Daily News Channel
Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that "extremist Islam is trying to bring us down through terrorism from north and south" as his Cabinet prepared to take office. He offered an olive branch of sorts to Palestinians, but did not hold out the promise of their own state. “In order for there to be peace, our Palestinian allies and partners also have to fight terrorism,” he said
Israel’s attorney general says he is considering charging Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with corruption over allegations he illegally received funds from an American businessmen. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz says Olmert committed fraud and breached confidences when he allegedly used his then-position as mayor of Jerusalem to help businessman Morris Talansky in 2006. Olmert says the money he received was legal campaign funding
Israel’s next government is shaping up to be a narrow conservative coalition after designated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to strike a deal on Friday with the moderate Kadima Party. “Unfortunately, I encountered a complete refusal for unity, a complete refusal to create joint teams to reach arrangements in order to find a common ground,” Netanyahu told reporters after meeting with Kadima leader, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. “I found no willingness for unity by Livni.” Israel’s other major moderate party, Labor, has already stated its unwillingness to join a government led by Netanyahu’s Likud Party.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the conservative Likud Party, has been chosen to form Israel’s next government, Israeli President Shimon Peres announced Friday.
Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu was chosen Friday to form Israel’s next government, Israeli President Shimon Peres’ office said. The decision comes after Avigdor Lieberman, head of the right-wing Yisrael Beytenu party, said he would recommend Netanyahu for the post, but only if he promises to form a “broad-based” coalition government
Israel’s centrist Kadima is maintaining its one-seat lead over right-wing Likud but with about 100,000 ballots yet to be counted the result is not yet official, the Central Elections Committee said Thursday. About 99 percent of the vote has been counted and the parties have already begun negotiations to form a ruling coalition in the 120-seat Knesset. The elections committee said ballots from such people as soldiers and diplomats remain to be counted, and final certification of the vote totals won’t come until next week.
Israel’s election on Tuesday ended in a near draw, with the two front runners — centrist Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni and hawkish Likud chief Benjamin Netanyahu — each claiming victory.
Israel’s two largest parties each claimed a mandate early Wednesday after exit polls showed a surprise first-place finish by the ruling Kadima party and dramatic gains by its conservative rivals. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s failure to assemble a ruling coalition for Kadima last year triggered Tuesday’s elections. But she told supporters after the vote that the narrow edge Kadima appears to have held over the conservative Likud shows her party is “the common denominator of Israeli society.” Livni called on Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu “to respect the choice of Israel’s citizens …
Early exit polls showed a surprise narrow lead for the centrist Kadima party as voting ended in Israel’s elections Tuesday, Israeli television networks reported. Kadima, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, appeared to have an edge over the conservative Likud bloc led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman and Israeli political analysts warned that exit polls had been wrong in past elections