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Feb. 26, 2003 Last-minute maneuvers delay new cabinet By GIL HOFFMAN Likud Party sources said Wednesday afternoon that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has not yet formerly offered the Finance Ministry to former Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert, which means it is still open for Binyamin Netanyahu Netanyahu turned down the portfolio earlier in the day, but is said to be reconsidering. A meeting of the Likud faction scheduled for this afternoon was delayed until evening to give Netanyahu a chance to reconsider. Sharon, meeting face-to face with senior Likud officials to announce which portfolios they will receive, offered the Foreign Affairs...

Feb. 13, 2003 Attorney-General slams Belgian court ruling on war crimes (UPDATE) By DAN IZENBERG Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein on Thursday blasted the Belgian Supreme Court decision paving the way for the immediate trial of three senior reserve army officers and of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon after he leaves office for their alleged involvement in a 1982 in two Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. "The criminal indictment in Belgium regarding (refugee camps) Sabra and Shatilla against Sharon, [Raphael] Eitan, [Amir] Drori and [Amos] Yaron is an injustice, not a search for justice," said Rubinstein. "Anyone who examined this case knows...

Sharon mulls offering Netanyahu finance portfolio Benjamin Netanyahu will probably reject the offer, claiming the job cannot be carried out without the prime minister’s support. Stella Korin-Lieber and Yoav Yitzhak 6 Feb 03 16:03Sources inform “Globes” that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is considering appointing Minister of Foreign Affairs Benjamin Netanyahu as Minister of Finance. Netanyahu has reportedly rejected the idea in talks with his aides. Netanyahu said, “It’s illogical for me to accept the post, since I’d clearly be doomed to failure.” He told his aides that the job of minister of finance in general, and in Israel’s current situation...

Last year, a few days after Sept. 11, I was given the privilege of appearing before a committee of the U.S. Congress to discuss the issue of terrorism. But had I been given the opportunity to speak before Sept. 11, I would have offered similar suggestions about how the war on terrorism should be fought and how it can be won. I would have pointed out that the key to defeating terrorism lies in deterring and destroying those regimes that harbor, aid and abet terror. I would have argued that to root out terror, the entire terror network, consisting of...

<p>JERUSALEM (AP) --  Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Saddam Hussein communicated secretly with him in 1998 to ease worries about a possible Iraqi attack on Israel.</p> <p>Netanyahu said it was thought that Saddam might launch a missile attack on Israel, as he had done during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, because of tensions over U.N. weapons inspections. Netanyahu said the Iraqi ruler sent a secret message assuring Israel that he had no such intention.</p>

May 27 issue — Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu has never been comfortable out of the limelight. But rarely has he appeared so baldly ambitious as he seemed last week, when he orchestrated a Likud Party resolution opposing the creation of a Palestinian state. To many Israelis, the real target of the resolution was Netanyahu’s rival within the Likud, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Last week NEWSWEEK’s Lally Weymouth talked with Netanyahu about the move. Excerpts: WEYMOUTH: What were you trying to accomplish in getting the Likud Party to pass this resolution?NETANYAHU: It isn’t a personal issue. It was...

The Pretender to the Throne Can Benjamin Netanyahu save Israel? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By Avi Davis/Jewsweek.com Jewsweek.com | His hair is a little thinner; the flesh a little thicker around the gills. But the stentorian voice and rolling command of the English language are unmistakable. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's former Prime Minister, darling of the cable news shows and right wing gadfly is back. And in a big way. Ariel Sharon's declining fortunes in the polls and the increasing disaffection...