Free Republic

The new Blue and White alliance of Benny Gantz’s Israel Resilience party and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid faction would become the largest party in the Knesset if new elections were held today, a new poll shows – but the right-wing – religious bloc would retain a narrow majority. According to the poll, conducted by Maagar Mohot and published by i24NEWS and Israel Hayom Sunday evening, if new elections were held today, the Blue and White party of Gantz and Lapid would win 36 mandates. The Likud, by contrast, would gain a single mandate over its 2015 performance, winning a total...

"The new right-wing party is on the right, period, for the land of Israel, without compromises, against a Palestinian state" Education Minister Naftali Bennett Announces A New "Right" Party In Israel 12/29/2018 Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked announced Saturday night the formation of "The New Right" party to contest the April 9th elections. They are leaving the "Jewish Home" party where Bennett served as its leader. Bennett and Shaked will be co-leaders of the new party. The party will 'represent secular and religious Israelis'. Bennett said religious Israelis have been used for too long by politicians...

"The release of United States President Donald Trump's 'deal of the century' for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will be postponed until the summer to enable Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party to win the April 9th Knesset election, according to Channel 2 News" "Arutz Sheva"-Israel National News Report 11:41 AM Eastern Time US 12/24/2018- "Anticipating the Trump administration's rollout of its peace plan< Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked told the "Jersualem Post Diplomatic Conference" on Wednesday that it will be a waste because the gaps between Israel and the Palestinians are too great to bridge" "Jersualem Post" Report...

Kulanu party leader Moshe Kahlon told Prime Minister Netanyahu that he will not accept Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett serving as defense minister, following the resignation of current defense minister, Avigdor Liberman. On Wednesday, Bennett issued an ultimatum to the Prime Minister, saying his Jewish Home faction will quit the coalition if he is not appointed defense minister. If Bennett's ultimatum holds, Kahlon's veto likely signals that early elections are on the way. "Bennett doesn't have it coming to get the Defense Ministry portfolio. I'm opposed to it," Kahlon told Netanyahu. Bennett told confidants in response that he will not...

A Jewish Home MK has unveiled a plan to bolster Arab emigration from Israel, and ultimately end the Palestinian Authority. MK Bezalel Smotrich, a member of the National Union faction within the Jewish Home party, is calling on the State of Israel to provide financial benefits for Arabs who move abroad. “This is not transfer,” said Smotrich, distancing his proposal from the platforms of MK Rabbi Meir Kahane’s Kach party and slain Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi’s Moledet party, which later joined the National Union faction. “Today, some 20,000 Palestinians leave Judea and Samaria every year,” Smotrich told Israel Hayom in...

While the Prime Minister has yet to approve construction of a new town in Samaria for the 42 families evicted from Amona, despite his promise to do so, the Jewish Home party is already laying the groundwork for the new community. Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel proposed Sunday to set aside 70 million shekels ($18,940,000) for construction of the new town, while giving the Binyamin Regional Council, the local authority, permission to undertake the project. In the proposal, Ariel cites the government’s compromise agreement with Amona residents in December of last year, according to which a new community will be built...

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...

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...

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...

Israel’s largest opposition party is negotiating the terms for a possible unity government, a senior Zionist Camp official said on Tuesday. Speaking with Army Radio, Tzipi Livni (Zionist Camp) confirmed that her party was in talks with the Netanyahu government over a possible unity coalition. “I was shown things [brought up] in the talks, [but] were not finalized,” Livni said. A senior Likud official confirmed the negotiations to expand the governing coalition, telling party chiefs already in the government that they would have to make concessions if the Zionist Camp does join. “Every party will have to do its part...

Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Bezalel Smotrich offered his alternative to the two-state solution during an interview with the Yisrael HaYom newspaper, arguing that Israel should annex Judea and Samaria and offer Arab residents in the area generous compensation packages to emigrate. According to Smotrich’s plan, Israel would annex all of Judea and Samaria, including areas A, B, and C. As for the demographic problem posed by adding those areas to the State of Israel, Smotrich proposes to give Arab residents three options. First, every Arab in the area would offered $100,000 to emigrate to the country of their choice....

The UN’s condemnation of the IDF’s conduct in Operation Protective Edge surprises no one, Jewish Home chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett commented Friday. “The UN has never been honest,” he said, during an interview with Army Radio. “The world will always come to us with complaints, and we need to focus on keeping ourselves safe.” …

As usual, the world’s media have it wrong about Israel. The Jewish State remains a forward-thinking beacon of democracy, equality and justice. Witness Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s newly appointed justice minister who at the age of 39 is likely one of the few women anywhere in the world to hold such a senior government position. She’s a secular leader of a religious party, and lives in North Tel Aviv. The extremists are on the left, holding minimal influence or power, and thankfully, with Shaked’s Jewish Home party now holding senior roles in Netanyahu’s coalition, the radical fringe of the New Israel...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett met on Thursday evening as part of the coalition negotiations. A source involved in the meeting told Arutz Sheva, however, that there has been no progress in the negotiations between the parties and that, unlike Netanyahu's meetings with leaders of other parties, he did not speak with Bennett regarding the details of the make-up of the next government. The meeting comes amid ongoing tensions between the Likud and the Jewish Home over the coalition talks. On Wednesday, a source told Arutz Sheva that Netanyahu is planning to form a unity...

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...

Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, called Jewish Home Chairman, Naftali Bennett, on Tuesday night. Bennett congratulated the PM on his victory. The two agreed to begin talks on establishing a nationalistic government and to act cooperatively on behalf of the security of the State of Israel and nation of Israel.

Final pre-election polls released on Friday evening show that the “Zionist Union”, headed by Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni, is maintaining a four-seat lead over the Likud headed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. According to election laws in Israel polls cannot be released in the final three days before election day, which is on Tuesday. A Channel 10 News poll gives the “Zionist Union” 24 seats, while the Likud has 20 seats.

With four weeks until elections for the 20th Knesset, Likud and Labor-Hatnua appear to be neck and neck. According to a survey conducted by the Midgam Institute for Channel Two, Labor, running under the moniker the "Zionist Camp" just barely inches by Likud with 25 seats. Likud is one behind with 24 mandates. It has been noted that even if Likud comes in behind, the party with the greatest chance of forming a coalition is given first crack, meaning the outcome of the close competition remains up in the air. The joint Arab list comes in as the third largest...

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...