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Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White) spoke Tuesday morning with US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, who congratulated him on his continued term as Defense Minister within Israel’s new government. In a statement, Israel's Defense Ministry said that "the two continued the discussion begun in Washington concerning the imperative to strengthen and fortify Israel’s security vis-v-vis external challenges." "They further discussed the continued need to halt Iranian nuclear plans as well as the current opportunities to advance regional peace and expand normalization agreements. "Gantz thanked the Defense Secretary for his and the administration’s support of Israel and...

A bill which would outlaw gay conversion therapy passed its preliminary hearing in the Knesset Wednesday afternoon. The bill, which was drafted by MK Nissan Horowitz (Meretz), would ban the controversial practice of treating homosexuals with the aim of reversing same-sex attraction. In its preliminary vote, the 120-member Knesset backed the bill by a margin of 42 to 36, after the coalition split, with Blue and White backing the proposed law, while haredi lawmakers and the Likud opposed it - with the exception of Likud minister Amir Ohana. After the vote, haredi lawmakers fumed at Blue and White chief and...

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Fox News' Mark Levin about the "deal of the century" and how it might be implemented following the March election. In the interview, Netanyahu explained that the rival center-left "Blue and White" party, led by MK Benny Gantz, is "a leftist party in disguise." "Remember, the majority of Israelis are basically right and center-right. So in order to get center-right voters, they pretend to be a center-right party and that they will take up the terrific Trump plan that has been put forward by [US] President [Donald] Trump that's very good for Israel,...

amina Chairman Defense Minister Naftali Bennett read today at the Knesset plenum embarrassing and confused quotations by Blue and White leaders from cabinet hearing minutes during Operation Protective Edge. Among other things, the words of Benny Gantz and Moshe (Boogie) Ya'alon, who served as IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister respectively, were cited from the State Comptroller's report. Bennett cited in this connection statements by Defense Minister Ya'alon at the time, calling for no action against the Gaza Islamic attack tunnels while cautioning against "miscalculation". Bennett also quoted a statement by Gantz that he called unintelligible: "Gaza has an...

“It is important for me to emphasize that the only ones who determine who the prime minister will be are Israeli voters. That is the essence of democracy,” Prime Minister Netanyahu recently said. That is what’s at stake here. Fake news and fake cases have been used by the media and by political operatives to mask a real coup. How do you win an election when voters won’t vote for you? You lie, cheat, and smear. And when that doesn’t work, it’s time to roll out secret investigations, midnight raids, and politically motivated trials. What’s at stake in America and...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he and President Trump discussed the possibilities of a U.S-Israel defense treaty as well as Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley in the West Bank in their call last night. Why it matters: This is mostly about domestic political positioning for Netanyahu as he and opposition politician Benny Gantz stare down a Dec. 11 deadline to form a government. Netanyahu gave the impression that Trump was favorably disposed toward both goals and called on Gantz to form a unity government to accomplish them. Between the lines: If neither Netanyahu nor Gantz can get 61...

MainAll NewsInside Israel'No unity government with Netanyahu' 'No unity government with Netanyahu' Senior Blue and White official says party has 'no faith in Netanyahu, not even for a single day.' Arutz Sheva Staff, 27/11/19 12:32 Share Netanyahu and Gantz Netanyahu and GantzREUTERS Senior Blue and White officials told Israel Hayom that their party is no longer willing to form a unity government with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. "Blue and White's leadership has no faith in Netanyahu - not even for a single day," a senior Blue and White official told Israel Hayom. "You can't trust him and do business...

Sephardic Kabbalist (mystic) Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri could have predicted the political unrest surrounding recent struggles by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, according to a report by the Hebrew daily Israel Hayom on Sunday. Information alluding to Kaduri's predictions spread throughout social media and on the messaging application Whatsapp in recent days, as well. Kaduri reportedly wrote in And He Swore to Isaac, a "hidden book" that was recently found in the Kabbalistic school of Nahalat Yitzhak, that "On the eve of the year 5780 (the upcoming Hebrew year), the year of corrections, there will...

Video Blue and White leader Benny Gantz returned the mandate to form the government to President Reuven Rivlin Wednesday evening, signalling the end of his attempts to form a coalition. Both Gantz and incumbent Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have failed to form a government more than two months after the last elections. Members of the Knesset will now have the opportunity to recommend a candidate for prime minister over the next three weeks, However, a third round of elections appears likely. "Gantz told the president that he is also committed in the remaining 21 days to continue to make every...

JERUSALEM, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's challenger, Benny Gantz, announced Wednesday he had failed to form a government by the midnight deadline, increasing prospects for the third elections in Israel in less than a year. Gantz, leader of the centrist party of Blue and White and Israel's former military chief, accused Netanyahu of refusing to drop demand for parliamentary protectons. Netanyahu was tasked by the president with forming a new governing coalition ahead of Gantz because he was supported by a larger right-wing bloc. But, like Gantz, he failed to gain a 61-seats majority needed to...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suffered a serious defeat in his bid to stay on as premier by failing to form a new coalition government, but his rival faced similar difficulties as he set about the same task on Tuesday. Ex-military chief Benny Gantz will now be given the chance to try to negotiate a coalition, but a deadlock following polls held on September 17 remains -- and yet another election cannot be ruled out. It would be Israel's third vote within a year, after Netanyahu also failed to form a coalition following April polls. His decision to inform...

After months of attacking each other and not speaking, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nemesis, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, will meet on Thursday morning at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. Netanyahu repeatedly told Likud leaders that there is no point in speaking to Liberman, because the Yisrael Beytenu leader is determined to end the prime minister's political career. But after Blue and White leader Benny Gantz canceled a meeting with Netanyahu, he called Liberman on Wednesday evening. "There is no point in wasting the country's time," Netanyahu told Liberman. "We will meet and see if it is...

TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political and personal future hangs in the balance this week, as a pretrial hearing weighing whether to indict him on corruption charges kicked off. Following the four-day hearing which began Wednesday, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will decide whether to indict Israel’s longest serving prime minister on fraud and bribery charges in three corruption cases. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing and has said he is the victim of a politically orchestrated “witch-hunt” by the media and the left. The start of the hearing came after talks to form a unity government, following last month's...

Unless he convinces Israeli lawmakers from outside his party to join him in a national unity government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 10-and-a-half-year run in office may soon end following inconclusive results inhis country’s parliamentary elections this week that appeared to deprive him of a governing majority in the Knesset. President Donald Trump took a hands-off approach when asked about the elections in America’s foremost ally in the Middle East. “Our relations are with Israel, so we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters while touring California. In Israel, Netanyahu has leveraged his ideological affinity with Trump as a selling point...

Center-left candidate Benny Gantz declares victory over Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli elections, and is rejecting the prime minister’s call for negotiations over leading the government. Gantz issued a statement Thursday saying, “I am interested in and intend to form a broad and liberal unity government under my leadership.” He also said, “the process of building a government has begun, and we will not be dictated to.” This comes after Netanyahu offered to build a broad coalition government with Gantz amid a tight election. Netanyahu proposed a rotating premiership among the two leaders. “The people chose unity, the people want...

With political machinations and intrigues in full swing following Tuesday’s election, both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz have said they want a national unity government. Netanyahu,however, said that he wants such a government to include his ultra-Orthodox and religious-Zionist allies, which Gantz and his party oppose. Support for a national unity government without the ultra-Orthodox parties is actually widespread, with some two-thirds of the Jewish Israeli public backing such a coalition, including half of all Likud voters.

According to Channel 13, 97.6% of the votes from Tuesday's elections have already been counted, Blue and White stands at 33 seats and Likud at 31 seats, with Blue and White leading by a narrow margin. It is important to note that these are still not the final results. Overnight, the committee was counting the near quarter of a million soldiers' votes cast by Israeli soldiers. The Central Election Committee (CEC) has been updating its website since the close of the polls at 10 p.m. on Tuesday. The last update was at 10:40 a.m. on Thursday: 4,354,991 votes had been...

Right-wing factions convened at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem Wednesday afternoon, deciding to establish a "right-wing bloc" headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, that will work for the establishment of the next government. It was decided to form a joint coalition negotiations team for all factions in the bloc. In addition to Netanyahu, the meeting saw the participation of Minister Yariv Levin and faction heads: Yaakov Litzman, Moshe Gafni, Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, and Bezalel Smotrich. Minister Aryeh Deri met with Prime Minister Netanyahu earlier this morning, as he was unable to attend the meeting due to the memorial ceremony...