Tag Archive for: Israel News

News Update

Negotiations continue as Eisenkot tries to form a government. Last night, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Eisenkot held a 2 hour security briefing. According to a joint statement issued by Netanyahu and Eisenkot after the meeting, Eisenkot was briefed on “the security and diplomatic challenges facing the State of Israel at this time.” The two agreed to continue exchanging updates as needed.

The IDF yesterday struck a senior Hamas commander who was operating from a restricted section of Nassar Hospital, which Hamas had converted into a military headquarters. The strike, carried out shortly after midnight in Khan Younis, targeted Mohammed Abu Ismail, commander of Hamas’ Khan Younis Brigade, along with several other operatives allegedly operating inside the hospital. The IDF said, “Before the strike, precautionary measures were taken to minimize, as much as possible, harm to the hospital building and uninvolved civilians. The strike was carried out in a targeted manner against the room from which the brigade commander and the terrorists were conducting military activities.”

The IDF also said, “Before carrying out the strike, the IDF repeatedly warned and demanded that military activity at the hospital cease, on several occasions, including recently” and that “The second floor of the hospital serves as a Hamas military headquarters, with civilians prohibited from entering and strict security maintained because it is used by the organization’s commanders, including Mohammed Abu Ismail.” Dozens of hostages had been held at Nasser Hospital during the war.

The Board of Peace subsequently condemned Hamas’ “alleged” use of hospitals and other civilian infrastructure for military purposes. It also condemned the loss of life in the strike, but did not condemn Israel.

Meanwhile, the IDF has coordinated the entry of over 93,000 tents into Gaza in preparation for the winter, along with more than 8,600 trucks carrying winter supplies. Also, hundreds of trucks carrying medical equipment and medications have entered the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, with supplies delivered directly to hospitals and clinics. The IDF said, “Hamas remains the primary obstacle to the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip and a different future for its residents. Hamas continues to exploit humanitarian infrastructure and incoming humanitarian aid, particularly the winter supplies being brought into the Gaza Strip.”

News Update

President Isaac Herzog has given Gadi Eisenkot the mandate to form the next government, after 67 MKs recommended him vs. only 46 for Netanyahu. Eisenkot managed to get to his number because all of the Arab MKs endorsed him. Netanyahu called for a unity government, but Eisenkot responded that any cooperation would require the prime minister to sever ties with extremist elements of his political bloc, which would include Ben Gvir and probably also Smotrich.

Eisenkot met individually with the leaders of the parties in his potential coalition, including Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman and Yair Golan. Eisenkot has shown willingness to form a minority government reliant on the Arab vote to pass laws in the Knesset. Liberman has said that he rejects the minority government idea and instead, is willing to sit with the Ultra-Orthodox parties despite his past refusal to ever do so. Bennett has yet to release any statements regarding his position after meeting with Eisenkot.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said that investigators had uncovered no evidence of foreign interference capable of changing the results of last month’s parliamentary election: “I am not aware of any evidentiary basis that comes even close to affecting the election results or substantiating a claim of influence that could have changed the outcome. If additional new information that has not yet been presented to us emerges, it will be examined and handled in accordance with the law.”

News Update

The political parties will start meeting with President Herzog later today, and each will make their recommendation as to who should be given the chance to form a government. The prevailing opinion is that the president will give Eisenkot the first try at forming a government, given that the Arab parties are expected to recommend him and the Ultra-Orthodox UTJ and expected to either also recommend him or no one, which would give Eisenkot more recommendations than Netanyahu.

Eisenkot’s bloc controls only 48 Knesset seats, but rumors indicate the possibility of combining either with the Arab or Ultra-Orthodox parties to form a voting majority, even though neither of those parties would technically be part of the government. Another option would be the formation of a unity government with Netanyahu’s Likud, but it’s highly unlikely that Netanyahu would agree to any scenario where he would not be Prime Minister.

Almost as important as what happens in President Herzog’s office today and tomorrow are the U.S. midterm elections taking place today. But that’s a different newsletter….

Stay tuned!

News Update

With nearly 80% of the votes counted, here are the election results (which could still change, albeit slightly):

Likud (Netanyahu) – 27

Yashar  (Eisenkot) – 22

Beyachad (Bennett) – 12

Joint List (Arab) – 11

The Democrats – 8

United Torah Judaism – 7

Shas – 7

Yisrael Beiteinu – 7

Otzma Yehudit (Ben Gvir) – 7

Religious Zionism (Smotrich) – 6

Ra’am (Arab) – 6

At this point, the Netanyahu block would appear to control 54 seats, and the opposition 49.

The ballots of the soldiers and other special voters have not yet been counted, but there are 600,000 of them, which could have a material effect on the breakdown of seats. These ballots have traditionally been overwhelmingly skewed to the Right and could potentially boost Netanyahu’s block enough to cross the 61 seat threshold required to form a government.

In the event that a government cannot be formed, the current government will continue until new elections are held in a few months. Of course, a unity government between the 3 largest parties would be an ideal outcome, but the opposition parties have refused to sit in a Netanyahu led government, and it’s highly unlikely (impossible?) that Netanyahu will give up the premiership.

So now we wait until all the votes have been counted.

News Update

Five people were wounded, included 2 critically, when 2 Hamas affiliated terrorists opened fire on soldiers and civilians near Yehuda Junction, southeast of Hebron. The terrorists were both 27, from Hebron, and married with children. A large quantity of explosives and ammunition was found in the terrorists’ vehicle. Soldiers from the Ari Battalion (775) of the IDF Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade arrived at the scene and engaged the terrorists. The deputy battalion commander and a company commander killed the terrorists. Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered entire Hebron area has been cordoned off and the IDF is conducting searches for additional terrorists. It is believed that the 2 terrorists were planning to continue deeper into Israel for a larger scale attack.

In an interview with TIME magazine, National Security Minister Ben Gvir said, “If Israel wants to continue to live and not be destroyed, we have to capture all of Gaza. We have to promote voluntary emigration. Gaza could be a Riviera. It’s a beautiful place. But we can’t have one Hamas member there.” He said, “Gaza was always ours. Israel is a tiny country. We have to be wider, broader.” Asked whether removing Palestinians from Gaza would deepen Israel’s international isolation, Ben-Gvir replied, “I think that the stronger we are, we won’t be isolated. Israel is isolated when it’s weak. If we help the population leave Gaza, we can be very strong.” He added that wants Netanyahu to be Prime Minister over the other candidates. For more, click here.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu accused Russia of operating networks of bots targeting Israel and said he had raised the issue directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yesterday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, “We were shocked by these unfounded accusations against our country, publicly voiced by the prime minister of Israel.” It called them “particularly absurd.”