After months of delays and legal ducking and diving, Benjamin Netanyahu finally appeared in court this week to face a raft of corruption charges. Israel’s longest-serving premier is also the first incumbent prime minister to go on trial. Sunday’s court appearance by Netanyahu was a formality in which he was Read more…
A new Israeli government was sworn in on Sunday after three general elections and 18 months of political deadlock. The Knesset approved the government – the fifth to be headed by Benjamin Netanyahu – by a vote of 73 to 46. For the first time, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz Read more…
The painstaking process of assembling a new Israeli government is due to culminate in its swearing-in tomorrow. Israel has had a caretaker government since late 2018 when the first of three closely fought, inconclusive elections was triggered. The third of those elections in early March eventually led to a “unity Read more…
The release of Donald Trump’s much-delayed Middle East peace plan in January was a nakedly political bid to boost Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances of re-election. After the conclusion of a “unity government” agreement last week, Netanyahu is guaranteed at least another 18 months as Israel’s prime minister. In that period, he appears determined Read more…
Israel’s year-long political stalemate has come to an end with the signing this week of a coalition deal between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz. The agreement will see the formation of a “unity government” in which the two men will rotate the premiership. Netanyahu is due to serve as prime Read more…
The roller-coaster path to the formation of a new Israeli government took new twists and turns over the last week, with Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz today locked in last-ditch negotiations ahead of a midnight deadline. Gantz’s 28-day mandate to form a government – issued to him by President Reuven Read more…
The deadlock which has paralysed Israeli politics for the past year appears to be drawing to a close after a stunning about-face by Benny Gantz last week. After fighting three elections since last April on a pledge to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s decade in office, the opposition leader last week threw Read more…
Israel is engulfed in a constitutional crisis following an effort by the speaker of the Knesset to effectively shutter the country’s parliament and prevent a vote on his replacement. Yuli Edelstein, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, has defied a ruling by the Supreme Court which ordered him to Read more…
Opposition leader Benny Gantz was officially charged yesterday with the task of forming Israel’s next government after a roller-coaster weekend of political manoeuvring. It came against the backdrop of the country in a virtual lockdown as dramatic measures to counter the coronavirus were taken by Benjamin Netanyahu’s caretaker government. Gantz, Read more…
Israel’s opposition leader, Benny Gantz, has seized the political initiative and is attempting to form a minority government within two weeks to oust Benjamin Netanyahu from power and end the country’s year-long political stalemate. The former IDF chief’s move follows a dramatic week in the wake of last Monday’s inconclusive general election. Read more…
Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have pulled off a spectacular comeback in Israel’s general election, but one that has seemingly left his right-wing and ultra-Orthodox bloc still short of a majority in the Knesset. The results of the election – the third since last April – aimed to break the deadlock Read more…
LFI Focus provides a periodic analysis on Israel-Palestine, providing an in-depth view of the issues that affect the region. This edition focuses on the fall-out from Israel’s election in March 2020. You can read it here. To view other editions of LFI Focus, please click here.