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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will return from his European trip to find that two Likud rallies have been organized to express opposition to the settlement freeze he reportedly negotiated with US envoy George Mitchell in London. The first, scheduled for Tuesday at Tel Aviv's Azrieli Tower, was organized by Minister-without-Portfolio Yossi Peled. It is not officially an anti-Netanyahu rally but rather a "pro-Jerusalem event," and yet MKs who attend are expected to bash the deal the prime minister is negotiating with the Americans. The second, set for September 9 at the Likud's Tel Aviv headquarters, openly opposes any freeze on...

Benjamin Netanyahu's second cabinet will complete its 100th day in power next week, ending what is known as its 'period of grace.' In a private discussions with his associates, the prime minister said that not only was he being denied a grace period, but that he had to deal with a 'media onslaught' that began hours into his term. This onslaught relented only after his address at Bar-Ilan University last month, when he said he accepted the prospect of a future Palestinian state, he said. In the same private discussion, the premier recounted what he considers his cabinet's achievements over...

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's vice prime minister and a number of lawmakers from the ruling Likud party have proposed alternatives to a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. They say Israel should annex parts of the West Bank, while turning over Palestinian population centers to Jordanian jurisdiction. This idea is a nonstarter with Israel's Arab neighbor. The position also conflicts with President Barack Obama's support for a Palestinian state.

In order to understand where someone may be heading, sometimes it makes sense to understand where they came from. In the case of the new Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, you can see those roots in everything he does. Benzion Netanyahu, Bibi's dad is a noted scholar of the history of Jews in Spain. He knows deeply the horrors that tends to happen to Jews when they don't have their own state. Benzion learned the Zionist ropes as an assistant to the Zionist philosopher Zeev Jabotinsky. And in Jabotinsky you can see one of the key reasons why you don't...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in late Tuesday to lead Israel 32nd government, after cobbling together a coalition amid rising tensions within his own Likud party and with other leading political figures. Lawmakers voted 69 to 45 with five abstentions in favor of Netanyahu's right-wing government after a six-hour debate, making Netanyahu prime minister for the second time in 10 years. The new coalition will comprise 30 ministers and seven deputy ministers. In addition to serving as premier, Netanyahu has also created a position for himself as financial strategy minister and appointed Yuval Steinitz (Likud) to serve as finance...

Once again, the Jewish majority won a clear victory in the elections, but is being forced to implement the self-destructive policies of Oslo. On the night that the results of the Likud primaries were publicized, there was electricity in the air. When the next morning's headline in Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper was "The Feiglin Party," even more people on Israel's Right decided to join the Likud. The feeling was that there was now hope for Israel to get off the suicidal Oslo track on which it has been speeding to its inevitable crash. There was a feeling that the Jewish majority...

Labor members voted in favor of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's proposal for the party to join a Likud-led government during Tuesday night's convention at Tel Aviv's Exhibition Grounds. 1,071 party members attended the convention, with 58 percent voting in favor of the decision and 42% voting against it - a margin of 165 votes. Before the vote, Barak vowed that his party would have a significant position in the coalition. "I am not afraid of [Prime Minister-designate] Binyamin Netanyahu. We won't be anyone's fig leaf or anyone's third wheel," the Labor leader said. We will act as an opposing force...

The problem, as we see repeatedly, with much media coverage of issues involving Israel is the way the story is defined. There need not be any sense of bias by a reporter. Merely copying what other journalists do or from a specific ideological framework—not because reporters have preconceptions but because they make far less effort than in the past to balance them—leads to a conception of the story that is skewed. This appears subtly in news stories but very openly in analysis pieces. Consider Steven Gutkin, “Analysis: Mideast peace up to interlocking deals,” March 16, 2009. The lead is innovative...

Israel's Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has signed a coalition deal with the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, officials say. Under the agreement, Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman would become foreign minister, said officials from Mr Netanyahu's Likud party. He is a strong supporter of the Israeli settler movement and opposes exchanging land for peace with the Palestinians. Likud still needs support from other parties to form majority in parliament. Yisrael Beiteinu would get five other cabinet posts, including internal security, infrastructure, tourism, and the integration of new immigrants. Mr Netanyahu has also been seeking the support of the centrist Kadima...

JERUSALEM — Israeli President Shimon Peres chose hard-line Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new Israeli government on Friday, ending days of speculation and giving Netanyahu six weeks to put together a ruling coalition. The question now is whether Netanyahu will form a narrow government with his hard-line allies or a broad government along with his centrist rival, Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni. His choice will have serious ramifications for the Mideast peace process. Peres made his announcement early Friday afternoon after holding meetings with Netanyahu and Livni. An official ceremony appointing Netanyahu was to be held shortly afterward....

The Likud is confident it can meet the two demands on which Israel Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman has conditioned recommending that President Shimon Peres designate Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu to be the next prime minister, Likud officials said Thursday. The Jerusalem Post reported exclusively Thursday that Lieberman was ready to endorse Netanyahu rather than Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, provided that Netanyahu pledged to push through his demands for civil unions and an eased conversion process, but that if those two demands were not met, he would back Livni. Lieberman is also seeking to be appointed defense minister or finance minister,...

The nationalist camp assumed the Likud would win, and voted for smaller parties. Will the bloc's win be enough to give Netanyahu the nod? With the apparent near-tie between Likud and Kadima, all eyes are now turned to the three venues in which the final determination of the elections will be decided: The soldiers’ votes, the preliminary negotiations among the parties, and President Shimon Peres. Though Kadima has apparently won 28 seats, compared to the Likud’s 27, past experience shows that this is likely to change after the votes of soldiers, diplomats, hospital patients and those who are ship-bound are...

(IsraelNN.com) Voters gave Kadima 28 mandates in the next Knesset, one more than Likud, with almost all of Tuesday's ballots counted but not including votes of diplomats and soldiers, whose votes will be counted on Wednesday and Thursday. Their ballots are equal to five mandates. Following is the current number of estimated MKs for each party following the counting of 99% of the available votes: Kadima 28 Likud 27 Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) 14 Labor 13 Shas 11 United Torah Judaism (UTJ) 5 Ichud Leumi (National Union) 4 Jewish Home 3 Meretz 3 Arab parties 12 The votes of...

JERUSALEM – Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu has declared victory in Tuesday's parliamentary election. Netanyahu told his supporters in a speech early Wednesday that he was proud of the gains by his hardline party. Exit polls show Likud coming in second, but in a better position to lead a coalition government because of a strong showing by other nationalist parties.

As soon as we’ve caught our breath regarding Kadima’s hairline win (according to exit polls only), the real story that emerges is the utter gutting of the Israeli Left, and the return of Likud. Of the four major parties today, three of them are Likud and its spin-offs: Kadima was founded by Ariel Sharon and is mostly made up of former Likudniks; Yisrael Beitenu’s chairman cut his teeth as the head of the Likud’s central committee.

Exit polls by Israel's three main television stations on Tuesday night showed Kadima as the clear winner in the 2009 general elections, with Likud coming a narrow second. Channel 1, Channel 2 and Channel 10 polling of voters as they left the ballot box all showed victory for Kadima, headed by Tzipi Livni.

Kadima wins elections, but will it form the next government? Kadima and its Chairwoman, Tzipi Livni, are the big winners of the 2009 general elections, according to a Rafi Smith exit poll commissioned by Ynet, with Likud finishing a disappointing 2nd. Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu delivered at crunch time to become Israel's third-largest party, while Ehud Barak's Labor party sustained a harsh blow. Exit polls by Israel's major television channels showed similar results

It can be hard for political junkies to live without polls until Election Day, but that’s exactly what Israel has had to put up with since Friday. The publishing of new election poll-results during the last days of the campaign is forbidden by law. Therefore the country is left in the dark until exit polls are published tomorrow evening: for now rumor and spin dominate public opinion.

Benjamin Netanyahu is pulling away from his rivals in the race to become Israel’s next prime minister, in a sign that the three-week war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has accelerated Israel’s shift to the political right. Polls show that Mr Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party opposition, would win at least 28 seats in the next parliament. His closest rival in the February 10 election, the centrist Kadima party, is expected to secure 24 to 25 seats. The gap has widened in recent days, suggesting the Gaza conflict provided only a limited boost to the parties in...

George Orwell once quipped, "The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it." Since Tuesday it has become clear that the Olmert-Livni-Barak government has decided to end the war with Iran's Hamas proxy army in Gaza as quickly as possible. That is, the government has decided to lose the war. Most Israelis are unaware of this state of affairs. In an obvious attempt to bolster the popularity of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak ahead of the February 10 general elections, the local media have spent the six days since the government launched Operation Cast...

Dec 31, 2008 23:54 | Updated Jan 1, 2009 4:07 Olmert, Barak and Livni say politics isn't influencing Gaza operation By GIL HOFFMAN Political considerations are not influencing the decision-making about the future of Operation Cast Lead, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak claimed Wednesday. Though the February 10 general election is only 40 days away, Olmert and spokesmen for Livni and Barak said they were not considering the impact of military moves on the race. None of them denied that they disagreed about tactics for continuing the war, but they said the...

Winds of war blow Netanyahu's way A "Globes"-Geocartography poll finds the right-wing block has extended its lead. While Labor Party chairman and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, and Kadima Party chairwoman and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni quarrel about who deserves the credit for Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, which so far has been successful, it seems that the public is in no doubt: the winds of war are blowing the Likud's way. A "Globes" survey, in collaboration with Geocartography, predicts sweeping victory for the Likud if the elections were to be held today, giving it 38...

Israel has a crisis of leadership. Ever since the "Oslo process" began leaders have had their heads in the sand. They are so consumed with a desire for peace, that they refuse to recognize the real facts surrounding them. The Palestinian side has made NO move toward peace. The past 15 years have proved that the basic assumption and paradigms of the Israeli peace camp are wrong and are dangerous to Israel ’s existence. As Israel moves toward the next election the choice is clear, the Kadima/Labor side will give up anything for peace, the Likud side wishes peace also,...

You may remember that almost immediately after new elections were announced in Israel the polls showed that Kadima Nominee Tzipi Livni held the lead or was a close second to Likud candidate Binyamin Netanyahu. Since then there has been a major shift in Kadima strategy which has been a boon for their biggest competitors Likud and Labor, its called letting Tzipi open her mouth. Over the past few weeks almost everything that the Foreign Minister said, has gone beyond unpopular, she his promising change that goes against the grain if Israeli society. Maybe she is spending too much time listening...

The "international community" is eagerly anticipating the incoming Obama administration's policy toward Israel. It is widely assumed that as soon as he comes into office, US President-elect Barack Obama will move quickly to place massive pressure on the next Israeli government to withdraw from Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in the interests of advancing a "peace process" with the Palestinians and the Syrians. Giving voice to these expectations this week was this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Martti Ahtisaari. The former Finnish prime minister used his prize ceremony to call on Obama to make contending with the Palestinian...

A far-right Likud party member has become a thorn in the side of party leader Benjamin Netanyahu, a frontrunner in the race to become Israel's prime minister, as media reprint comments he made praising the Nazi system and denigrating Arabs. Moshe Feiglin, 46, had a strong chance of winning a parliamentary seat after gaining significant support within Likud, at a time when Netanyahu is seeking to soften the image of the right-wing opposition party. But Likud's governing body on Thursday pushed Feiglin down to the 36th place on the election slate from the 20th slot following an appeal by a...

Polls show Netanyahu's Likud extending significant lead The latest pre-election poll in Israel has Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party extending its lead over the currently ruling Kadima Party, and keeping the lead for the past few weeks The results of the poll issued in the paper "Yisrael hayom" predicted Likud winning 35 Knesset seats to just 26 for Kadima in the February 10 general election. Ehud Barak's Labor Party continues its fall to just 8 seats in the latest poll. The poll showed Likud and other right-of-center parties winning a commanding bloc , more than enough for Netanyahu to form a...

The latest pre-election poll in Israel has Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party extending its lead over the currently ruling Kadima Party. Broadcast on Israel's Channel One News on Tuesday night, the results of the poll predicted Likud winning 37 Knesset seats to just 25 for Kadima in the February 10 general election. Ehud Barak's Labor Party fell to just 7 seats in the latest poll. The poll showed Likud and other right-of-center parties winning a commanding bloc of 68 seats in the next Knesset, more than enough for Netanyahu to form a stable majority coalition.

JERUSALEM: A pair of polls published Thursday showed opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline Likud party leading Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's moderate Kadima party in the run-up to Israel's Feb. 10 elections. The polls also indicated strong support for Netanyahu's hard-line allies. If that support stands through the elections, it would position Netanyahu to put together a hawkish coalition that would likely end peace talks with the Palestinians, at least in their current form. Netanyahu believes the U.S.-backed talks, which aim to establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, have been a failure and thinks negotiations should largely be limited to...

Former cabinet minister and Likud MK Benny Begin will soon announce his return to politics and to the Likud Party, and his intention to run in the party primary for the next Knesset list. Begin, who dropped out of politics and public life in 1999, agreed in talks with Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu over recent weeks to return to the party, after having apparently been promised a ministerial appointment if Netanyahu should win the upcoming elections. The decisive meeting between the two was held late Saturday at the home of close Netanyahu associate Reuven Rivlin, also a Likud MK, in...

Kadima beats Likud in new pollDahaf-Yedioth Ahronoth survey published Monday morning points to close race, as Livni takes the lead with 29 Knesset seats, Netanyahu follows with 26 seats. Labor plummets to 11 seats, while Shas may lose power Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni appears to be enjoying the fruit of her declaration that she will not give in to extortion. A new Yedioth Ahronoth survey conducted by the Dahaf Institute and published Monday morning showed that had the Knesset elections taken place today, Livni would have led Kadima to victory with 29 Knesset seats, the same number of mandates it...

Kadima leader Tzipi Livni has failed to form a viable coalition and will recommend going to general elections when she meets President Shimon Peres on Sunday afternoon. The move came after Shas and Degel Hatorah, which constitutes half of the United Torah Judaism faction in the Knesset, announced over the weekend that they would not join a Livni-led government. "I'm sick of this extortion," Livni was quoted as telling her advisers. "We'll see all these heroes in 90 days." The most likely date for a national election is February 17, 2009. Livni is scheduled to inform Peres of her decision...

Give John McCain credit where credit is due. A so-called "maverick" and ideological Liberal-Independent in Republican clothing, his dance to the mythical Center (Left, in reality) was clearly not working and his campaign was floundering. In one bold stroke, he did what he needed to do. In picking Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain re-energized the core conservative base of the Republican party and suddenly vaulted ahead of Obama in the polls. You can talk all you want about Palin's appeal to women and her folksy style, but she is what McCain is not; a card-carrying conservative to the...

For thirty years, the leftist Israeli organization Peace Now has been promoting the thesis that sufficient Israeli concessions would win the Jewish state peace from its Arab neighbors and that Israel’s refusal to make the needed concessions, primarily dismantling the settlements and returning to its pre-1967 armistice lines, are the main obstacle to that desired denouement. Peace Now has been arguing this line both at home and around the world and has attracted fervent overseas followers and media kudos for its stance.

Following consultations late Tuesday night, Defense Minister Ehud Barak is seriously considering presenting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with an ultimatum on Wednesday: Either the premier resign, or Barak will pull Labor out of the coalition, thus forcing new elections. Channel 1 first reported on the matter late on Tuesday, saying that Barak made his decision after consulting with advisers at his house. However, the Labor chairman issued a statement soon after which denied that such consultations took place at his home, and that only after holding a meeting with Labor ministers and MKs early Wednesday morning would he actually make...

The story of Purim as related in Megillat Esther is the bridge between the destruction of the First Temple and the building of the Second Temple. Interestingly, the eastern gate to the Temple Mount is called the Shushan Gate, as if to symbolize that the path to the future Temple goes through Shushan. The feast of Ahashverosh in Shushan was a low point in Jewish history. The Jews of Ahashverosh's kingdom were so deep in exile mentality that they actually reveled and feasted at the Persian mega-party despite the fact that the (kosher) food was served on the holy Temple...

Opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) on Sunday slammed the government's decision making process prior to the Annapolis peace conference, calling it "political blindness." "Everybody wants peace, but we want a real peace and that requires insisting on the safety of Israeli citizens and insisting on reciprocality. "This is a very weak government, which made too many concessions going into the summit," said Netanyahu, who spoke at the Zeev Jabotinsky awards ceremony. "The government has released hundreds of prisoners and has already given the Palestinians weapons… They are politically blind. If this is how they start off, who knows were...

Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu slammed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for the concessions he has been proposing to the Palestinians, echoing criticism within Olmert's own party, Kadima, according to Israel National News. Netanyahu stressed that "there is simply no Palestinian partner" with whom to negotiate, reiterating a point that many Mideast experts have confirmed. A recent report released stated that Hamas is just as strong as Fatah in the West Bank, only more driven. "This government just gives and gives and receives nothing - and this will place us in dangers much greater than we have known before, as we see...

Former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, who is set to be re-elected as head of Israel's right-wing Likud party on Tuesday, is a media-savvy arch-hawk determined to move back to the political centre stage. Netanyahu was expected to sweep to victory during a Likud primary with at least 70 percent of the vote, according to internal opinion polls, in a contest against two other candidates. -snip- Bibi, as Netanyahu is widely known in Israel, is hoping to ride a wave of dissapointment with the ruling Kadima party over scandals and last year's Lebanon war back to the top of the Israeli political...

JERUSALEM, Israel (AP) -- Benjamin Netanyahu swept the race to lead Israel's hardline Likud Party, a party official said, boosting his ambitions to reclaim the country's premiership. Netanyahu, crowned in recent polls as the front-runner for Israel's top job, faced off against far-right West Bank settler Moshe Feiglin, who would bar Arabs from Israel's parliament and favors their emigration. A partial tally gave Netanyahu 73 percent of the vote to Feiglin's 22 percent, party executive director Gad Arieli said. World Likud Party Chairman Danny Danon trailed with 4 percent. While a Netanyahu victory had been all but assured, a strong...

One-in-four Israelis would pick Benjamin Netanyahu as their head of government, according to a poll by Dialog released by Haaretz. 26 per cent of respondents would like the Likud leader to become prime minister again. Shimon Peres of the Kadima party is second with 11 per cent, followed by fellow party member and current foreign affairs minister Tzipi Livni with 10 per cent, former prime minister Ehud Barak of the Labour party with six per cent, current prime minister Ehud Olmert also with six per cent, and Labour’s Ami Ayalon with five per cent. In March 2006, Israeli voters renewed...

If elections were held today, the governing Kadima party would receive a mere nine mandates, according to a telephone poll carried out by the Smith Institute for Ynet. While Kadima is collapsing in public opinion, favor is returning for the Likud party. According to the poll, Likud would triumph in hypothetical elections with a full 32 mandates. Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu was perceived as the person best suited to serve as prime minister, earning 34 percent support and beating out his competitors by a large margin. After Netanyahu, those surveyed favored Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Labor Knesset Member Ami...

There is the possibility that some of the Likud renegades in Kadima, rueing the day on which they decided to throw in their lot with that ill-starred political creation, will return to the ranks of the Likud. And that some of the Labor rejects, now eating humble pie, will be mercifully accepted into the ranks of Labor. And that a politically reshuffled Knesset will bring down the Olmert government and vote confidence in a new prime minister and his government. Or else, perish the thought, new elections. This political uncertainty is painful to contemplate at a time when Israel faces...

Political earthquake: A poll published on Friday in the Yedioth Ahrnonoth daily shows that 63 percent of Israelis feel that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert failed in managing the war in Lebanon and should resign. Only 29 percent believe the prime minister is fit to continue leading the country. About 74 percent of those polled said Defense Minister Amir Peretz mishandled the war and should resign his post. A mere 20 percent said Peretz should keep his post. Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dan Halutz faired slightly better than his superiors with 54 percent saying he should resign...

The Washington Times reports that some Israeli reservists, having just returned from fighting in Lebanon, are demanding that Prime Minister Olmert resign because of his handling of the war. The reservists are complaining about insufficient provisions, including no water (some were forced to drink from canteens of dead Hezbollah guerrillas), shortages of combat equipment, and indecisive orders. One group of about 200 from a particular reservist infantry brigade gathered in front of Mr. Olmert's office after a protest march through the city. The soldiers are also calling for the resignation of Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Army Chief of Staff...

Opposition chairman tells Knesset 'Lebanon war proves that concept of unilateral withdrawals has collapsed' Following Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's address to the Knesset plenum Monday night, chairman of the opposition Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage and delivered a compelling, if biting, speech. He recounted his efforts to help the government in its PR war, but was quick to criticize the government's policy. According to Netanyahu, "There were failures in identifying the threat, in managing the war, in dealing with the homefront…There is no doubt that we must learn our lesson and correct our mistakes. We were asleep and we received...

Netanyahu: They vilified me, but I created growth Likud chair Benjamin Netanyahu: Everyone's taking credit for my economic policies. Globes’ correspondent 16 May 06 12:48Likud chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu accuses politicians and journalists of collaborating to vilify him and blacken his reputation, even though they knew the truth that his economic doctrine was right.In an interview with IDF Radio (Galei Zahal) this morning, Netanyahu said, “I was targeted because I opposed the disengagement plan. They made political capital out of me and my policies. For months, they presented me as an evil man. Those who viciously and venomously attacked my...

The Likud faction announced on Friday that it planned to propose a no-confidence vote against the government in the wake of its decision to raise the price of bread by seven percent. The price rise was suggested by the Price Committee and approved by the outgoing Finance Minister and newly sworn-in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Likud Central Committee chairman MK Gidon Sa'ar attacked the government over the price increase. "It is a mockery, when the first decision of a government, which wastes money on an cabinet inflated with ministers without portfolios, is to raise the price of the most essential...

Apr. 12, 2006 1:25 | Updated Apr. 12, 2006 5:14 Kadima to give Labor draft deal By GIL HOFFMAN Kadima representatives will present Labor's negotiating team with a rough draft for a coalition agreement on Wednesday after both sides reported progress in negotiations at Ramat Gan's Kfar Hamacabiah Hotel on Tuesday night. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Kadima ministers on Tuesday and told them that he wanted the coalition-building process completed by the end of the month. Members of Kadima's team said negotiations over the coalition guidelines would be completed by the end of the holiday, allowing for...

Kadima party officials told the Likud’s coalition negotiating team that Kadima plans to implement its “convergence plan” to uproot dozens of Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria by 2008. Kadima negotiators said the withdrawals would be made prior to the next U.S. presidential election in November 2008. After the meeting between the two teams which took place in Ramat Gan’s Maccabiah Olympic village, former Education Minister, MK Limor Livnat (Likud) concluded, “the chance that we’ll be joining the coalition is very, very unlikely.” Kadima negotiators also told their Likud counterparts that Kadima would oppose holding a national referendum on carrying...