Tag Archives: Benjamin Netanyahu

Axios reports: An Israeli cabinet meeting exploded into a shouting match today after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to install a loyalist as justice minister despite the attorney general’s determination that such a move was illegal. The Israeli supreme court issued an injunction to block Netanyahu’s move on Tuesday night. The court will convene on Wednesday for a hearing on …

The Times of Israel reports: On a day of extraordinary political drama Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial entered the evidentiary stage at the Jerusalem District Court even as across town representatives of Israel’s political parties were meeting with President Reuven Rivlin to tell him whether they recommend Netanyahu remain prime minister after last month’s deadlocked election. The prime minister faces …

Haaretz reports: In recent weeks, a conspiracy theory has been making the rounds on the dark corners of the Israeli internet. It alleges that Israel’s election on Tuesday will include widespread voter fraud in mail-in ballots. There is only one problem with the theory, which is laid out in detail in conspiratorial social media accounts: Israel doesn’t allow voting by …

NBC News reports: Israel reopened swathes of its economy including malls and leisure facilities on Sunday, with the government saying the start of a return to routine was enabled by Covid-19 vaccines administered to almost half the population. Shops were open to all, but access to gyms, hotels and theatres was limited to people with a “Green Pass”: those who …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Joe Biden made a long-awaited first phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday after a delay that had seen Washington deny it was snubbing Israel’s leader. There had been speculation that the Democratic president was signaling displeasure over Netanyahu’s close ties with former President Donald Trump, who called the right-wing leader two days …

The Washington Post reports: Israel’s fractious coalition government collapsed Tuesday night, forcing the country into its fourth round of national elections in less than two years. The immediate cause was the failure of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to pass an annual budget by a midnight deadline, one of many basic acts of lawmaking that have gone undone since right-wing and …

The Jerusalem Post reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris in his message to Sunday’s cabinet meeting, conducted over video conference. “I have a personal, long and warm connection with Joe Biden for nearly 40 years,” Netanyahu said, “and I know him to be a great friend of the State of …

Politico reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday passed up an opportunity to knock Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, seemingly deflating President Donald Trump in the presence of reporters in the Oval Office. Addressing his foreign counterpart, who was on speakerphone, Trump asked Netanyahu: “Do you think Sleepy Joe could have made this deal, Bibi? Sleepy Joe? I think …

The Washington Post reports: Most politicians go to great lengths to conceal their dirty laundry. And then there’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Over the years, the Israeli leader has developed a reputation among the staff at the U.S. president’s guesthouse for bringing special cargo on his trips to Washington: bags and suitcases full of dirty laundry, according to U.S. officials …

The Associated Press reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was pushing on Wednesday for an immediate and strict nationwide lockdown as the country’s raging coronavirus outbreak showed no signs of slowing. Netanyahu warned the nation that tough measures loomed as he took a break from a stormy session of his coronavirus Cabinet. Members of the policy-making body were reportedly deeply …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump will preside over a White House signing ceremony Tuesday in which Israel will establish formal ties with two Arab states, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in what Trump calls the flowering of his Middle East peace plan. The agreement, called the Abraham Accord in honor of the three Abrahamic religions rooted in what …

The Washington Post reports: Israel will head into a second coronavirus lockdown, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a televised news conference Sunday night, following a sharp escalation in the number of new infections in the country in recent weeks. The lockdown, which requires schools, stores, malls and hotels to close and reinstates restrictions on people’s movements for at least …

The Times Of Israel reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hired prominent right-wing journalist Aaron Klein as his new strategic and communications consultant, the Likud party announced Monday. Klein, 41, has advised Netanyahu for several months, but in recent weeks quit his job as Israel correspondent for the far-right Breitbart website to work for Likud full-time. Klein’s new appointment made …

The Associated Press reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday launched a tirade against the nation’s justice system as his long-awaited corruption trial got underway, accusing police and prosecutors of conspiring to “depose” him. Netanyahu’s comments opened what is sure to be a tumultuous period for Israel as he becomes the country’s first sitting prime minister ever to go …

Axios reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former rival Benny Gantz signed a deal on Monday to form a “national emergency government,” ending more than a year of political deadlock in which Israel was forced to hold three elections. Facing corruption charges and protests, Netanyahu will remain in office as prime minister — just weeks after it seemed …

NBC News reports: The deadline for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief political rival to form a government elapsed Wednesday, increasing the chances the nation will be headed toward an unprecedented fourth election in little over a year. Last-minute talks between Netanyahu and the Blue and White alliance’s leader Benny Gantz failed to form a coalition for Israel’s next government, …

Axios reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared with his cabinet a video he claimed was evidence of Iran concealing coronavirus deaths by dropping bodies in garbage dumps, two cabinet ministers tell me. Several hours later, Netanyahu’s office realized the video had nothing to do with Iran, or with the coronavirus crisis. It was a clip from “Pandemic,” a 2007 …

Haaretz reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he will enter quarantine along with his close advisers. Netanyahu’s aide on Knesset affairs tested positive for coronavirus on Monday. The PMO said the step was a precaution and is being taken even before the epidemiological investigation has been concluded. Also Netanyahu’s spokesperson Shir Cohen, Director of Prime Minister’s Office Asher Hayoun …

The Times of Israel reports: Another former worker at the Prime Minister’s Residence is suing Sara Netanyahu for mistreatment, Channel 12 reported today. The woman, a 56-year-old immigrant from France, is seeking NIS 650,000 ($189,000) in damages for a series of accusations including work-related harassment and abusive employment. Several former employees have claimed mistreatment and abuse by the prime minister’s …

The Associated Press reports: The corruption trial for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will begin March 17, just two weeks after national elections are held, a court said Tuesday. The surprise announcement immediately shook up the final stretch of the contentious election campaign, upending Netanyahu’s attempts to divert attention away from his legal woes. It also could weaken his ability …