Free Republic

Syrian Kurdish commanders seek Israel's help amid territorial losses to Turkish-backed Islamist forces. The assessment is that intervention would escalate tensions with Turkey. ===================================================================== The Israeli defense establishment is weighing requests for assistance from Syria's Kurdish minority, who are under attack from Turkish-backed Islamist groups. The appeals for help have reached Israeli officials in recent days following the advancement of these groups and their successful capture of Kurdish-held territories. Israel and the Kurdish forces have maintained an ongoing dialogue, which has strengthened significantly following the fall of the Assad regime. The Israeli dilemma stems partly from the potential impact such...

An official close to the Prime Minister tells The Time of Israel that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was fired for professional reasons, and not because of coalition politics. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that Gallant “functioned as a rubber stamp for the IDF and did not challenge it even once.” The defense minister, claims the official, advocated a diplomatic solution in Lebanon six months ago that would not have diminished Hezbollah’s capabilities, and opposed the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah until the IDF backed the move. On Gaza, claims the official, Gallant resisted the IDF going...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the prime minister’s office said Tuesday. Israel Katz, currently the foreign minister, will become defense minister and Gideon Sa’ar will replace Katz as foreign minister.

The State of Israel will be going to vote on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. This will be the fifth election in less than four years. The near parity is between the competing political blocs: the Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-of-center on one hand, and the anti-Netanyahu left-of-center bloc led by Yair Lapid. Netanyahu’s Likud bloc has nevertheless a noticeable advantage; it has a reliable bloc of 60 mandates in the polls, and it may have an even higher number in the real poll – on Election Day. Netanyahu has only to find a single defector to form a narrow coalition government of...

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday visited the Tomb of Jethro in honor of the Druze festival of Ziyarat al-Nabi Shu'ayb. At the start of the event, President Herzog was welcomed by Shaykh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel. Also attending were Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar (New Hope), Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White), opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud), Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev (Labor), Welfare Minister Meir Cohen (Yesh Atid), Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej (Meretz), Minister in the Finance Ministry Hamad Amar (Yisrael Beytenu), Deputy Minister in the PMO Abir Kara...

As Yesh Atid party leader MK Yair Lapid was reportedly set to formally announce Tuesday that he had managed to put together a coalition after marathon overnight talks, the legal adviser to the president pushed back against a claim by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party that the nascent government could not have Yamina’s Naftali Bennett serve as its first premier. The legal adviser to the office of President Reuven Rivlin, Udit Corinaldi-Sirkis, said in a statement that there was no legal reason why the MK entrusted with forming the coalition should not serve as alternate prime minister during the...

In a discussion with associates on Tuesday, Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett spoke candidly about his political plans, which, according to media reports, he is closely coordinating with New Hope party leader Gideon Sa’ar. Both Bennett and Sa’ar hail from the ideological right and both are outspoken opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seek to unseat him as premier. Although Bennett refused to recommend that President Reuven Rivlin confer the mandate to form a government on Netanyahu last week, he has made clear that he will join a Netanyahu-led governing coalition if Netanyahu is able to secure the two seats...

Incumbent Netanyahu easily defeats primary challenge and re-energizes base ahead of the general election Benjamin Netanyahu on September 14, 2010.jpg: US State Dept.derivative work: TheCuriousGnome [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Today was newsworthy in Israel because it saw torrential rainfalls that brought with them in one day the average rainfall of the entire month of December and because incumbent PM and head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu easily defeated the leadership challenge from Likud member of the Knesset Gideon Sa’ar. The primary election saw 49% of all Likud party members show up to vote in spite...

Wikileaks and other sources reporting about an internal email from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that points to a biased report being produced on an alleged chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government in the city of Douma in April 2018.... Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could die in prison.... "Have no fear all will end well for everyone" That was the Sunday morning tweet from President Trump on Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher..... On Sunday night we have word of the firing of the Secretary of the Navy.... President Trump tweeting tonight in part regarding Eddie Gallagher..... Results...