JERUSALEM (AP) — Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be headed toward a historic fifth term as Israel’s prime minister on Wednesday, with near-final election results giving his right-wing Likud and its traditional Jewish ultra-Orthodox and nationalist allies a solid majority in parliament. Here’s a look at what comes next: FINAL RESULTS There are still some votes to be counted as ballots … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared headed toward re-election early Wednesday, as close-to-complete unofficial results showed him pulling ahead of his main competitor in a tight race seen as a referendum on the long-serving leader. With a victory, Netanyahu would capture a fourth consecutive term and fifth overall, which this summer will make him Israel’s longest-ever serving … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief challenger Benny Gantz made their final appeals to voters Monday on the eve of parliamentary elections that will determine whether the longtime Israeli leader stays in power. Buoyed by a tight alliance with President Donald Trump but clouded by a series of looming corruption indictments, Netanyahu is seeking a fifth … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Rafi Eitan, a legendary Israeli Mossad spy who led the capture of Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann, died Saturday. He was 92. Eitan was one of the founders of Israel’s vaunted intelligence community and among its most prominent figures in Israel and abroad. “Rafi was among the heroes of the intelligence services of the State of Israel on … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Cinderella story of Israel’s current election campaign is a fringe party led by an ultranationalist libertarian with a criminal record who vows to legalize marijuana, and seems to diverge dramatically from the long list of quirky candidates of the past who have drawn attention to their improbable runs for parliament. For starters, Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot has come to the rescue of a fellow Israeli celebrity in a spat with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Gadot, who typically shies away from politics, is rallying behind Rotem Sela, one of Israel’s top models and TV hosts, who drew fire from Netanyahu for criticizing his fearmongering election campaign against the country’s … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has run into political trouble in the past, he has lashed out at the media, the political opposition and Israel’s Arab minority with incendiary and divisive language to galvanize his nationalist base. Ahead of April 9 elections, Netanyahu has zoned in on prominent Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi. The Israeli leader, slumping in … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust on Thursday in a series of corruption scandals that have dogged his recent years in office and overshadowed his current re-election campaign. The scandals have engulfed Netanyahu’s family and his inner circle, with at least three former close confidants turning state’s … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general on Thursday recommended criminal charges against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a series of corruption cases, shaking up an already tumultuous election campaign and threatening to end the Israeli leader’s decades-long political career. The potential charges stretch across an array of embarrassing scandals that have painted Netanyahu as a hedonistic, and sometimes petty, leader … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted his Czech, Slovakian and Hungarian counterparts Tuesday in a series of sit-downs that replaced a high-profile summit in Jerusalem that was cancelled over a rift with Poland. The first gathering outside Europe of the Visegrad group was supposed to be a crowning achievement for Netanyahu in his outreach to central and … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s off-hand comment in Warsaw about Poland and the Holocaust set in motion a diplomatic crisis that on Monday scuttled this week’s summit of central European leaders in Israel. Poland’s abrupt decision to cancel its participation in the planned Visegrad conference in protest blew up the gathering, which Netanyahu has touted as a major … Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Sunday that his government would allocate the necessary funds to complete a long-promised museum honoring Jewish World War II veterans. The project has been bogged down in bureaucratic stalemate for more than a decade as donor money has dried up and the government has wavered on its degree of support. The … Read More
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A two-day security conference in Warsaw was supposed to be a crowning achievement for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stamping a seal on his long-held goal of pushing his behind-the-scenes ties with Arab leaders into the open. Instead, the publicity-seeking Israeli leader made one embarrassing misstep after another, distracting attention from his main mission and sending … Read More
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday at a security conference in Warsaw that Iran is the top threat in the Middle East and confronting the country is key to reaching peace in the entire region. Pompeo met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the opening session at the conference and said “pushing back” … Read More
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Donald Trump’s senior Middle East adviser, son-in-law Jared Kushner, said Thursday that the Trump administration would unveil its much-awaited Mideast “Deal of the Century” after Israeli elections on April 9. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Kushner briefed participants at a security conference in Poland about the anticipated plan but would not go into details … Read More