Free Republic

The Central Elections Committee announced that the counting of "double envelope" votes has been completed. In the elections for the 26th Knesset, a total of 5,564,764 valid votes and 25,072 invalid votes were received. The Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to lead and has risen to 27 seats, followed by Yashar, led by Gadi Eisenkot, with 21 seats. Together, led by Naftali Bennett, has 12 seats, while the Joint List has 11 seats. The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, and Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, each have eight seats. Yisrael Beytenu, Otzma Yehudit, United Torah Judaism and each have...

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has not ruled out sitting with MKs Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud), Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism), and Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit), but opposes the formation for a "fully" right-wing government. In an interview with Channel 13 News, Bennett said, "A fully right-wing government, in the current sense, is, in my eyes, a disaster, because it does not have the balances." He added, "Netanyahu, Bezalel, and Ben Gvir...in a different constellation, can be fine, but a government trapped in the hands of the extreme is horrible and awful, even if it is the other side." .....

Mar. 5, 2006 20:31 | Updated Mar. 6, 2006 8:52 Religious Zionist rabbi supports Kadima By MATTHEW WAGNER AND JPOST STAFF Braving the criticism of the religious Zionist public, Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun announced Sunday his support for Kadima. Bin-Nun, head of the religious kibbutz movement's Yeshiva at Ein Tzurim, said putting his support behind Kadima was "the most difficult decision I have ever made." Olmert and Bin-Nun also reached an understanding, according to Ha'aretz, in which Olmert pledged that the security fence would not delineate Israel's borders. In the document, the acting prime minister promised to retain Jerusalem's integrity under...