Israelis protest medical state clamp-down as leaders enter quarantine
Protestors in Jaffa, Israel joined with a young man Wednesday who was accosted by police for defying government orders to not depart more than 328 feet from his home.
Netanyahu
Israel’s health minister tests positive for coronavirus
Israel’s most senior Health Minister has tested positive for coronavirus, government officials confirmed Thursday. Yaakov Litzman has entered isolation together with his wife, who also tested positive. Litzman is part of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community which, according to unofficial figures cited by Israeli TV channels Sunday, make up half the country’s hospitalized coronavirus patients.
Some claim Gantz, Netanyahu closer to deal, but stumbling blocks unresolved
Interim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz were said in some reports to be inching closer to forming a unity coalition, with claims that the government could be sworn in as early as next Monday, but other sources said squabbles within the premier’s bloc were complicating the negotiations.
Israeli High Court of Justice intervenes to propel Gantz into unity government with Netanyahu
Israel’s High Court of Justice Thursday ordered a vote on the future of Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein which saw him step down, as Blue and White leader Benny Gantz filled his shoes and signaled the formation of a “national emergency government” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu: Full lockdown possible within days if virus spread doesn’t slow
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Wednesday that a full closure of the country could be introduced within days to curb the coronavirus pandemic, hours after further restrictions on Israelis’ movement were put into effect.
Netanyahu and Gantz discuss unity government, plan fresh talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz discussed the possibility of setting up an emergency government to tackle the coronavirus Wednesday, taking a rare step toward a much-touted unity coalition.
Netanyahu, Gantz talk up unity as their parties sling mud at each other
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz on Tuesday both expressed willingness to continue efforts to form a unity government that would include both their parties, even as Likud and Blue and White kept hurling accusations at each other.
Emergency unity government nearly formed in Israel as political foes temporarily abandon their enmity
Israeli Likud and Blue and White parties are nearing an agreement to form an emergency unity government after Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz relinquished his former refusal to work with the beleaguered Prime Minister.
Israel enters lockdown mode as PM announces unprecedented measures
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday tightened the national stay-at-home policy aimed at containing the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, announcing the guidelines he had introduced earlier this week would now be enforced by police under emergency orders.
Netanyahu sparks privacy scare with move to track corona patients’ phones
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday announced that Israel would begin using advanced digital monitoring tools to track carriers of the coronavirus, raising major privacy concerns and prompting accusations of mass surveillance.
Gantz receives unexpected majority, tasked with forming Israeli government
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will task Blue and White leader Benny Gantz with forming the next government, after the leftist former IDF chief gained a majority of seats in the Knesset with unexpected support.
Netanyahu weighs new, stricter measures to halt coronavirus pandemic
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting at his office in Jerusalem late on Saturday afternoon to discuss further, more stringent measures Israel may take to halt the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus turns Israeli politics towards unity
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will task Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White rival Benny Gantz with forming the next government Sunday, as lawmakers across the political spectrum are calling for an emergency government to deal with the novel coronavirus.
Jerusalem court rejects Netanyahu bid to delay corruption trial
Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday rejected Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to delay his corruption trial on the grounds that his defense team has not received all of the relevant material from the prosecution.
Israel requires foreign citizens flying into the country to quarantine themselves for fourteen days
Israel has imposed quarantine conditions on all incoming flights in a move that the Finance Ministry predicts will cost the country $1.4 billion.
Netanyahu calls virus ‘pandemic’ as Israel plans restrictions on some US flights
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the coronavirus was a pandemic more severe than any disease outbreak in the past century, as a senior official said Israel was likely hours away from placing restrictions on flights arriving from some parts of the United States.
Final results show Likud with 36 seats, Netanyahu bloc short of majority with 58
A full 68 hours after the polling stations closed and exit polls predicted a surge for Likud and its right-wing bloc, the Central Elections Committee on Thursday confirmed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party as the largest after Monday’s general election, with final results giving it 36 seats to rival Blue and White’s 33.
With 99% of votes counted, right-wing bloc slips to 58 seats, 3 shy of majority
As votes cast in so-called double envelopes in the Knesset elections were being tallied, the Central Election Committee updated the count Wednesday morning, giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the centrist rival Blue and White led by Benny Gantz an extra seat apiece, leaving the premier’s bloc of right-wing supporters at 58 seats.
Netanyahu within one or two seats of forming ruling majority, left-wing MKs expected to defect
With 92% of the vote counted Tuesday from unprecedented third elections in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing bloc were slated to beat rival Benny Gantz and the Blue and White party with 59 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
Rivlin likely to task Netanyahu with forming government on first day of trial
President Reuven Rivlin is set to task a candidate with forming a government on or before March 17, the same day Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial begins.