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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...

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...

Following the demand of Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, the leaders of the coalition parties on Sunday evening approved the Yisrael Beytenu party’s bill mandating the death penalty for terrorists. The bill will be brought to a preliminary vote in the Knesset plenum. MK Robert Ilatov, Yisrael Beytenu Parliamentary Group Chairman, said, "Today is a historic day in the State of Israel. After years in which the Yisrael Beytenu party has been promoting the death penalty for terrorists and after it was rejected by the Knesset and the government, today the death penalty bill for terrorists has finally been approved by...

Recent comments by Opposition head Yitzhak Herzog (Zionist Union) and Shelly Yachimovich (Zionist Union) suggest that their party may still join the government coalition. On Saturday, both politicians said that they would reconsider joining a unity government, should there be any diplomatic initiatives. MK Herzog presented new conditions to joining. "If Netanyahu kicks the Jewish Home out of the coalition, we will meet as a party and we will consider the issue," he told Shabbatarbut in Modi'in. "Netanyahu chose to go with the extremists," he added. "It doesn't look like he is breaking up with them. I lead a strong...

Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) has attacked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) over their support for a Palestinian state and the need for a political process with the Palestinians. "We will take down the government over anything that would lead to a division of the Land of Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state. We will fight it," he said during an interview on Meet the Press. "There will be no Palestinian state here. I will do anything to stop it," he promised. "We are in a government whose basic principles include...

Opposition leader and Zionist Union chairman MK Yitzhak Herzog confirmed "the door is closed" regarding his party joining the coalition Monday, rejecting via Twitter an offer from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to resume talks. "Netanyahu, in response to your inquiries in recent days about resumption of negotiations on joining your government, I want to clarify publicly what I told you verbally: that door is closed," Herzog wrote. "This chapter is finished. You are a prisoner in the hands of the most extreme and we will fight you - and them," he added, referring to the addition of Yisrael Beytenu. ......

The Almagor terror victims organization on Sunday contacted ministers on the Security Cabinet and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, demanding that they not block a new death penalty bill for terrorist murderers. The bill is being requested by incoming Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman as a condition for his Yisrael Beytenu party to join the coalition. While Liberman reportedly may fold on the demand for a new law, it seems that new instructions will be given to facilitate the death penalty for terrorists. Almagor Director Lt. Col. (ret.) Meir Indor spoke to Arutz Sheva on Sunday about the new bill, and former...

Coalition chairman MK David Biton (Likud) on Sunday addressed the proposed death penalty law for terrorists initiated by Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman during coalition negotiations. "I think there needs to be a death penalty, not just for those who want to commit suicide, but those who want to carry out a deadly attack only to be released after a few years in some exchange deal," said Biton during an interview with Radio Lelo Hafsaka. According to Biton, the law will provide a solution to terrorists who sit comfortably in Israeli prisons, study for an academic degree and are then...

Hundreds of far leftists held a protest on Saturday night at Tel Aviv's Habima Square, demonstrating against MK Avigdor Liberman being appointed Defense Minister as part of his Yisrael Beytenu party joining the coalition government. Present at the protest was MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz), former Labor MK Yael Dayan, chairperson of Meretz's management Ori Zachi - and counter-protesting the radical leftists, nationalist rap star Yoav Eliasi, better known by his stage name Hatzel. The leftist protesters bore signs reading "Liberman is a fascist," "the disaster government, we don't want any more victims," and "Liberman is war minister." Invitations to the...

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) announced on Friday morning that he is quitting politics, following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to hand his portfolio over to Yisrael Beytenu head MK Avigdor Liberman so as to bring his party into the coalition. "This morning I let the Prime Minister know that due to his conduct and recent developments, and due to a lack of confidence in him, I am resigning from the government and from the Knesset and taking a timeout from political life," said Ya'alon. Ya'alon's resignation is particularly dramatic as Liberman has not yet formally been given his portfolio...

israel Beytenu chairperson Avigdor Liberman's imminent entry to the coalition government has been evoking numerous responses in Israel, but the Palestinian Authority (PA) also saw fit to comment on the developments Thursday morning. ..... That initiative is based on the 2002 Saudi initiative, by which Israel would make massive concessions in return for paper agreements from its Arab neighbors not to attack - Israel has flatly rejected the French push. According to the PA, Yisrael Beytenu's entry "sends a strong message to the world that Israel prefers radicalism..." .....

Former Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has roundly condemned the reported agreement between the Likud and Yisrael Beytenu parties, to include provisions for implementing the death penalty for terrorists as part of a coalition deal. Under the agreement, a new directive will be issued to military courts, by which only a simply majority of two judges will be needed to sentence a terrorist murderer to death, as opposed to the unanimous requirement currently in place. Imposing a death penalty for terrorist killers was one of the key conditions set by Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman for entering the governing coalition. While...

Negotiators from the Likud and Yisrael Beytenu parties have agreed to accept the latter’s demands for the death penalty for terrorist murderers, as a condition for entering the coalition government. According to the agreement, the IDF military court — which is technically able to level the death penalty, but maintains an unofficial moratorium on it — will be issued new instructions, by which a simple majority of two judges can hand down a death sentence to terrorists convicted of murder. Currently, the law requires all three judges to unanimously agree. …

Former Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman has accepted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s offer to join the coalition in return for the Defense and Immigration ministries, senior Yisrael Beytenu officials said on Wendesday. According to senior officials, the Prime Minister’s meeting Wednesday afternoon with Liberman has already laid the groundwork for Yisrael Beytenu’s entry into the government. Shortly after the meeting, Netanyahu reportedly called Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, informing him that Liberman had requested the Defense Ministry in exchange for his support of the Likud government. Senior officials have leaked details of the meeting, including Netanyahu’s offer to Liberman, which includes two...

Opposition leader and Zionist Union party chief Yitzhak Herzog has announced he is suspending unity government talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, after the premier issued an invitation to begin talks with Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman. n a markedly abrupt, pithy press conference, Herzog said Netanyahu faced a choice between "going to war and funerals, and the victory of (Avigdor) Liberman and (Naftali) Bennett, or the track of hope" - namely, inviting the Zionist Union party to join the coalition instead. "These are the choices - there are no other options," he added. "We won't continue negotiations at...

Communist Arab party Hadash is likely to be included on a list of parties denied financing under a revolutionary anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) bill, according to the party’s guidelines. Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman introduced the bill Thursday. The law would strip political parties of government funding if they supported boycotts of any Israeli products, including those from Judea and Samaria. The bill would also halt funding for day-to-day operations for parties that are already in the Knesset. …

Despite winning the majority of incoming MKs' support to form the next government, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu continues to face suspicions he will abandon them for the Left. Likud, Jewish Home, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Kulanu, and Yisrael Beytenu all recommended Netanyahu for the task - giving him a total of 67 MKs in his possible coalition. Still, MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) fears Netanyahu may take the President's mandate and instead of forming a narrow right-wing government, create a broad unity government. "We are opposed to a unity government. The nation made a definite choice," Shaked said during an...

Poll fever continues ahead of March 17 elections, and while results have shown Likud and Labor neck and neck, the latest survey by Channel 10 gives Labor a full four mandate gap over Likud. According to the poll, conducted by the Dialog Institute under the supervision of Prof. Camil Fuchs, Labor - which erased the word "Zionism" from its Arabic ad campaign - would get 24 mandates, while Likud would only receive 20. Coming in at third Jewish Home stays at 16 seats, followed by a joint Arab list that would receive 12 mandates. Such a joint list - formed...

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party may have run on a joint ticket with Likud in the last elections, but in a closed meeting on Tuesday he sharply attacked Prime Minister and Likud head Binyamin Netanyahu’s political management. According to Liberman, Netanyahu’s policy of placing supreme emphasis on maintaining the status quo is “failed,” reports Haaretz. […] In the meeting, which took place at Tel Aviv University, Liberman stated that Israel is not initiating any political processes and warned that without a peace agreement, Israel’s ties with the EU will be harmed and the Israeli economy will suffer serious...