Free Republic

....Netanyahu is expected to redefine his "natural partners" after the upcoming election, shifting from a nationalist government to a more leftist one. The Ma'ariv newspaper quoted senior Likud members as saying that because of a need to focus on issues such as the economy and due to pressure that is expected to come from US President Barack Obama in regards to the peace process, Netanyahu is expected to shift his coalition more towards the center-left in an effort to build as broad a coalition as possible. "Netanyahu would prefer to give up the religious parties, especially in light of the...

The weekend media storm over Naftali Bennett's position on how IDF soldiers should deal with orders to throw Jews out of their homes does not seem to have hurt the Bayit Yehudi chairman – and in fact, the party is doing better than ever. Several polls showed that Bayit Yehudi has pulled ahead of Shas, and with its 12-13 seats (depending on the poll), the party will be the third largest, after Labor and Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu. Auguring the party's popularity is the fact that Naftali Bennett's Facebook page has now achieved 100,00 “likes,” the seal of approval Facebook users grant...

..... "First, the facts: I never called for refusal of orders. Not in the interview with Nissim Mishal and not anywhere else, ever. "I have served in the IDF for 22 years, as a combat soldier and commander. I fought in all of Israel's campaigns during this time, including unknown ones. I repeat: I never called for refusal of orders.... "On Thursday I spoke from the depth of my heart and I do not apologize for what I said. However, I am now not a private individual but a public figure, and I will say things in the clearest possible...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu implied Saturday night that he would not include the Jewish Home party in any potential coalition in the next Knesset. In an interview with Channel 2, Netanyahu addressed Bennett's recent claim that if he were in the IDF and ordered to expel Jews from their homes, he would ask to be relieved from duty, saying, "This is very serious. The future of the country rests on the army and executing orders. I'm saying a simple thing: Whoever is adamant about refusing orders - will not sit in my cabinet." .....

Tzipi Livni responded...to the final approval of 1500 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo. "The Ramat Shlomo construction represents everything that is problematic in the Netanyahu government. Housing priority is given to Haredim under the guise of national interest which infuriates the world against us and puts Jerusalem under a magnifying glass and international questions. Great national damage."

Israel’s prime minister on Monday accused the international community of “deafening silence” in response to recent vows by the head of the Hamas militant group to fight on until the Jewish state is destroyed, and appeared unmoved by the gathering storm of global condemnation of his government’s plans to continue settling the West Bank. Benjamin Netanyahu’s tough words were likely to deepen the rift between Israel and some of its closest allies, particularly in Europe, that has emerged since the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of Palestinian independence last month. In a sign of the tense relations, European...

At an annual event discussing ways to end human trafficking, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared that the problem of illegal immigration into Israel "has been solved.” With no more than a few dozen illegals managing to get into Israel in recent months, Netanyahu said that for all intents and purposes, his government had managed to put an end to illegal immigration, and with it, the problem of human trafficking. “Human trafficking, human torture, and murder of children were phenomena that accompanied the parade of illegals that entered the country. From the moment we stemmed this flow, with the intent of...

About 100 activists from MK Michael Ben-Ari’s newly-formed “Power to Israel” party demonstrated on Thursday evening near the Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva, against the failure of Operation Pillar of Defense. Ben-Ari was among the protesters. The demonstrators yelled “Bibi is a coward” and called to topple the Hamas regime in Gaza in order to restore the quiet to southern Israel. MK Ben-Ari said during the demonstration that “an enemy is fought with an iron fist and not an iron dome. ....

A new poll that came out on Thursday shows the merged Likud - Yisrael Beiteinu party taking a big hit mostly for the benefit of more right wing parties. The reason behind the shift is likely dissatisfaction with the cease fire. A new Israeli poll released this morning, and conducted following the cease-fire with Hamas, announced yesterday after 8 days of fighting, shows a significant drop in public support for Israeli Prime Minister Netanayhu. The poll which was commissioned by Israel’s Knesset website and conducted by the Panels Institute shows Netanyahu’s joint list with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, named Likud-Beiteinu...

headline says it all, makes it look a total hoax and failure of the 0 administration once again

Enough is enough already... The Israeli Defense Force's Caterpillar D9R military bulldozer -known affectionately as the 'Teddy Bear' in Israel- is best known (in the west) for scraping the West Bank clean of terrorist nests, etc. The armored behemoth weighs over 56 tons, and is considered a front-line tool in the battle against terrorism.  The CAT D9R rescues damaged AFVs, detonates IEDs, clears paths, neutralizes booby-traps, demolishes terrorist structures and infrastructure (even under fire), and regularly provides cover for IDF soldiers.  Some major terrorists have even been directly killed by them (such as Muhammed Tawalbe in Jenin and Case Adwan...

Israel will be voting for a new Knesset in the coming months, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday night video .....

DM Ehud Barak and PM Benjamin Netanyahu met Saturday night in an attempt to clear the air of the tension that has been brewing for the past few days and for Netanyahu to get a grasp on what exactly happened during Barak's most recent official visit...

Naftali Bennet, a candidate for leadership of the Jewish Home party, said Tuesday that he agrees with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that Defense Minister Ehud Barak is making trouble between Israel and the United States. “The behavior of Ehud Barak, who creates crises in order to be the one to fix them, is known,” he said. “The question is, why isn’t Netanyahu fixing the crisis-maker and freeing us from the damage done by Ehud Barak?” Bennet continued. “Netanyahu must take charge and fire the Defense Minister, not be a political analyst in the matter of crises created ...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is claiming that Defense Minister Ehud Barak is trying to spark conflict between Israel and the United States. The two have been close confidants, with Barak, a left of center politician, originally giving Netanyahu legitimacy in the U.S. as a man of balance politically. Barak was Netanyahu's superior officer during their IDF service. According to Arutz 2, during a meeting Tuesday between the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Netanyahu revealed signs of mistrust and conflict between himself and his defense minister, saying Barak went to the U.S. to stir up trouble, with intentions...

President Barack Obama spoke Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran’s nuclear program and the two reiterated their stance that Iran shouldn’t have a nuclear weapon, the White House said. “The two leaders discussed a range of security issues, and the President reaffirmed his and our country’s unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security,” the White House said in a brief summary of the call. “The two leaders underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” Their call comes amid increasing tension between the two leaders. Mr. Netanyahu has...

The woman who went on five different Sunday talk shows a week ago to lie to the American people about the attack in Libya on 9/11, saying it was a spontaneous protest when the administration knew it was in fact a terrorist attack 24 hours after it occurred, skipped Israeli Ambassador Benjamin Netanyahu's speech yesterday at the U.N. General Assembly in New York City. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice instead decided to go to a lunch with foreign ministers. There is no word on whether Rice's decision to skip Netanyahu's speech was spontaneous or planned in advance. At a time when...

Obama and Netanyahu will meet in an unannounced meeting, the London Telegraph reported Sunday. There has been no confirmation. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet on Sunday in an unannounced meeting, The London Telegraph reported Sunday. There has been no confirmation or denial from Washington - but the Prime Minister’s spokesman Mark Regev told Arutz Sheva on Sunday that the newspaper’s report they will meet on Sunday is “incorrect.” Concerning a meeting in the near future, he issued a “no comment” response. The reported meeting is to take place as 25 countries deploy warplanes and warships...

In pondering the behavior of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I cannot help but think of the 500,000 plastic keys that Iran imported from Taiwan during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88. At the time, an Iranian law laid down that children as young as 12 could be used to clear mine fields, even against the objections of their parents. Before every mission, a small plastic key would be hung around each of the children’s necks. It was supposed to open for them the gates to paradise. “In the past,” wrote the semi-official Iranian daily Ettela’at, “we had child-volunteers: 14-, 15-, and 16-year-olds. They...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu dismissed as “completely groundless” allegations he is manufacturing a crisis with US President Barack Obama just before the November 6 American election to influence the outcome in favor of Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Netanyahu, in a Rosh Hashana interview with The Jerusalem Post that will appear in full on Sunday, said his call for the United States and the international community to set red lines for Iran was not at all connected with the US political campaign. “It has nothing to do with the American elections, because the Iranian nuclear program doesn’t care about the American...