Latest news with #IsraelPolitics
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Pressure mounts on Netanyahu as opposition moves to dissolve parliament
Polls suggest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would lose power in any early election. (AP pic) TEL AVIV : A member of Israel's right-wing coalition threatened to quit the cabinet today and support an opposition motion to dissolve parliament tabled for next week, piling pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Latest opinion polls suggest that Netanyahu's coalition would lose power if an election was held today, with many voters unhappy over the continued war in Gaza prompted by the attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel in October 2023. United Torah Judaism, one of two ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, said it would withdraw from the government unless it secured last-minute concessions formalising an exemption for ultra-Orthodox men from military service. The opposition party Yesh Atid, led by former prime minister Yair Lapid, put forward a parliamentary vote for next week to topple the government, even as the Israeli army continues battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It would require the support of 61 out of the 120 members of the parliament to succeed. 'This Knesset (parliament) is finished. It has nowhere to go,' Lapid said. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has remained silent on the looming crisis. A spokesman for United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf told Reuters the party would vote in favour of dissolving parliament unless exemption legislation was passed. With a week until the vote, Netanyahu and his allies still have time to negotiate over an issue that has dogged the coalition for months. A source close to the government said, on condition of anonymity, that negotiations within the coalition were continuing. Netanyahu's coalition of secular right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties holds an 8-seat majority in parliament. United Torah Judaism has 7 seats while its ally, Shas, the other ultra-Orthodox party, has 11. Betting on a bluff The coalition is sharply divided over whether young ultra-Orthodox men who are studying in religious seminaries should be exempt from mandatory military service. Failing to pass an exemption risks a walkout by ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, while approving it could trigger a protest exit by secular parties. Coalition member Ohad Tal of Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party criticized Goldknopf for threatening to trigger elections and called on the ultra-Orthodox lawmaker to resign. He urged others to negotiate a new arrangement but that a blanket exemption from military service could no longer stand. Former Knesset member Ofer Shelah said Netanyahu was likely betting the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers were bluffing, given the polls suggested they faced defeat in any early election. In March, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers threatened to bring down the government over the same issue, but time passed without any action. Resentment over the informal exemption given to religious seminary students is growing and lawmakers from the ruling coalition and opposition ranks say it is no longer tenable. Netanyahu won election in 2022 and does not have to return to the polls until 2026. Historically, few Israeli governments serve a full term. He has faced widespread criticism for failing to prevent the surprise October 2023 Hamas attack that killed roughly 1,200 people, and is facing growing calls from protesters and families of hostages still held in Gaza to end the war to secure their release. But some in his coalition say the war must continue until Hamas is eradicated. Political analysts say that the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers could simply quit the government to protest their failure to secure concessions, without toppling the ruling coalition.
Al Arabiya
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Netanyahu meets visiting US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem: PM's office
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with visiting US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Jerusalem on Sunday, his office said. US and Israeli media reported that President Donald Trump sent Noem to Jerusalem following the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington last week. Noem was accompanied at her meeting with Netanyahu by US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, the prime minister's office said in a brief statement Sunday night. The office added that during the meeting Noem 'expressed unwavering support for the Prime Minister and the state of Israel,' as well as appreciation 'for his conduct of the war' in Gaza. The visit comes as Israel ramps up its campaign in the Palestinian territory in what it says is a renewed effort to destroy Hamas. Earlier, Noem and Huckabee had visited the city's Western Wall, where early celebrations for Monday's 'Jerusalem Day' holiday were taking place. The holiday commemorates what Israel considers Jerusalem's reunification under its authority after the city's eastern sector was captured by its forces in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Netanyahu's office said he had also met with Democratic US Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada earlier in the day.
South China Morning Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Israeli PM Netanyahu meets visiting US homeland security chief Kristi Noem in Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met visiting US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Jerusalem on Sunday, his office said. Advertisement US and Israeli media reported that US President Donald Trump sent Noem to Jerusalem following the killing of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington last week. Noem was accompanied at her meeting with Netanyahu by US ambassador Mike Huckabee, the prime minister's office said in a brief statement on Sunday night. The office added that during the meeting Noem 'expressed unwavering support for the prime minister and the state of Israel', as well as appreciation 'for his conduct of the war' in Gaza. The visit comes as Israel ramps up its campaign in the Palestinian territory in what it says is a renewed effort to destroy Hamas. Advertisement Earlier, Noem and Huckabee had visited the city's Western Wall, where early celebrations for Monday's 'Jerusalem Day' holiday were taking place.
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Israeli PM Netanyahu meets visiting US homeland security chief Kristi Noem in Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met visiting US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Jerusalem on Sunday, his office said. Advertisement US and Israeli media reported that US President Donald Trump sent Noem to Jerusalem following the killing of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington last week. Noem was accompanied at her meeting with Netanyahu by US ambassador Mike Huckabee, the prime minister's office said in a brief statement on Sunday night. The office added that during the meeting Noem 'expressed unwavering support for the prime minister and the state of Israel', as well as appreciation 'for his conduct of the war' in Gaza. The visit comes as Israel ramps up its campaign in the Palestinian territory in what it says is a renewed effort to destroy Hamas. Advertisement Earlier, Noem and Huckabee had visited the city's Western Wall, where early celebrations for Monday's 'Jerusalem Day' holiday were taking place.
Arab News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Israel leader meets visiting US homeland security secretary: PM's office
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with visiting US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Jerusalem on Sunday, his office said. US and Israeli media reported that Trump had sent Noem to Jerusalem following the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington last week. Noem was accompanied at her meeting with Netanyahu by US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, Netanyahu's office said in a brief statement Sunday night. The office added that during the meeting Noem 'expressed her unreserved support for the prime minister and the State of Israel.' The visit comes as Israel ramps up its offensive in the Gaza Strip in what it says is a renewed effort to destroy Hamas. Earlier in the evening, Noem and Huckabee had visited the city's Western Wall, where early celebrations for Monday's 'Jerusalem Day' holiday were taking place. The holiday commemorates what Israel considers Jerusalem's reunification under its authority after the city's eastern sector was captured by its forces in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
