Latest news with #OtzmaYehudit
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Golan surges in polls, Bennett leads opposition; Likud weakens
Yair Golan's Democrats are gaining momentum as Naftali Bennett tops the latest poll. Likud loses ground, and Netanyahu's bloc remains far from a majority. A new survey published Friday by Maariv shows that Likud's support declines in scenarios where Bennett runs, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc continues to fall short of a parliamentary majority. Yair Golan's Democrats are gaining momentum in the polls, regardless of whether former prime minister Naftali Bennett enters the political race. The poll, conducted by the Lazar Research Institute, indicates that Golan's party is recovering from a dip the previous week. The Democrats are projected to win nine seats if Bennett forms a new party, or 13 seats if he does not—up from 12 in the previous poll. In a scenario in which Bennett leads a new political list, he would receive 28 seats, maintaining his previous standing. In that case, Likud would drop to 19 seats, while Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beytenu would each fall to 10. Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism would remain unchanged at eight seats each. Under this configuration, the Netanyahu-led coalition would hold 44 seats, and the opposition—Bennett included—would command 66. The Arab parties, Ra'am and Hadash-Ta'al, would receive a combined 10 seats. If Bennett does not run, Likud would rise to 23 seats, National Unity would receive 16, and Yesh Atid would fall to 14. The Democrats would increase to 13, while Shas and Otzma Yehudit would remain at nine. United Torah Judaism would gain one seat, reaching eight. In this scenario, the coalition would hold 49 seats, while the opposition—excluding Arab parties—would rise to 61. The poll also asked respondents about the appointment of Maj.-Gen. David Zini as head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). The question centers on a legal dispute: Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara has argued that Netanyahu is barred from making senior law enforcement appointments due to a conflict of interest. According to the poll, 42% of Israelis support the attorney-general's position, while 40% side with Netanyahu. Another 18% said they did not know. 86% of coalition supporters back Netanyahu 72% of opposition supporters back the attorney-general Among Arab party voters: 66% support the attorney-general, 8% support Netanyahu, and 26% are undecided The poll was conducted May 28–29, 2025, based on a representative sample of 500 Israeli adults. The margin of error is ±4.4%.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ben-Gvir: I want the hostages home, releasing only half would mean raising a white flag
'A partial deal is the wrong thing to do,' he said. 'My stance on deals is very well known. We can bring them to their knees and cut off their oxygen.' National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fully aware of his "political red lines" and the consequences of crossing them during an interview with 103FM on Thursday. Ben-Gvir emphasized that while others threaten to leave the government over policy disagreements, he is the only one who has actually done so. 'I don't speak in threats about whether to topple the government or not. I don't speak to the prime minister with threats,' he said. 'The public knows that if my red line is crossed, unlike others, I follow through. I'm the only one who left the government. I don't just make threats and then stay. The prime minister knows what my red line is, and he knows when he crosses it.' His remarks came as coalition leaders continued internal discussions over a proposed deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, based on what has been referred to as the "Witkoff framework." Ben-Gvir reiterated his strong opposition to the deal, warning that any partial arrangement would embolden Hamas and weaken Israel's negotiating position. 'A partial deal is the wrong thing to do,' he said. 'My stance on deals is very well known. We must keep pounding them. We can bring them to their knees and cut off their oxygen.' Although he refused to say directly whether he would resign from the government if such a deal is approved, the minister stressed that his party, Otzma Yehudit, has stood firm in its principles. Addressing criticisms that say that he is indifferent to the hostages' fate, Ben-Gvir said, 'I want the hostages back just as much as you do. But this way [with the Witkoff outline], we get half and push the release of the other half even further away. Releasing the second half would mean raising a white flag. It would be a historic mistake.' He also condemned the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying it strengthens Hamas and undermines the war effort. 'We're giving humanitarian aid to areas where Hamas is present and opening bakeries across Gaza,' he said. 'A normal country that wants to survive doesn't give aid to its enemies. When they're full, they know how to fight. When Hamas is hungry, they don't.' Ben-Gvir dismissed reports that the International Criminal Court may issue an arrest warrant against him, as well as against Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as part of its investigation into actions taken during the Gaza war. 'There are parts of the world where we'll never look good,' he said. 'The prime minister told me: 'They'll issue an arrest warrant against you if you keep talking like this.' In the end, they issued one against him.' He added that he does not travel abroad and is unfazed by potential international sanctions. 'I take my vacations in Tiberias and Eilat. They don't scare me. They want to impose sanctions on us because there are antisemites who don't like us, and I'm not intimidated by them.' On the haredi conscription bill, Ben-Gvir said a compromise could include drafting young ultra-Orthodox men not studying in yeshiva into police units. 'I'm not a populist, I prefer to take action,' he said. 'I established a haredi Border Police unit, and I've asked for more. I believe there are solutions. I've told Minister Goldknopf that I can draft your boys who aren't studying into the police.' Ben-Gvir also addressed the dispute over the appointment of David Zini as head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), placing blame on Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara. 'She ultimately wants to appoint, decide, and control,' he said. 'The prime minister should appoint him definitively, and despite her decision.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia Slams Israeli Officials for Storming Al-Aqsa Compound
Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Tuesday the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem by Israeli officials under the protection of Israeli forces. A Foreign Ministry statement said the Kingdom 'continues to condemn the ongoing blatant Israeli violations of international law and the repeated heinous attacks on the mosque.' It reiterated its 'categorical rejection of all attempts to alter the historic and legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites.' Saudi Arabia called on the international community 'to hold the Israeli forces accountable for their dangerous and ongoing violations against Islamic sanctities and innocent civilians in the state of Palestine.' Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and hundreds of Israeli nationalists visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday where they performed 'provocative' rituals at its squares amid heightened security measures. Palestinian traders in Jerusalem's Old City returned to their shops on Tuesday to clean up a day after a march by Israeli nationalists that saw scuffles, insults and acts of vandalism. Some had to use crowbars, hammers and wirecutters to regain access to their own shops after many were vandalized during the 'Jerusalem Day' march the day before. On Tuesday, metal shutters protecting the shopfronts bore the marks of the parade's passing, with padlocks blocked and stickers slapped upon them, AFP reported. 'No humanitarian aid for Gaza,' read one sticker from Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power).
News24
6 days ago
- General
- News24
Palestinians clean up after Israeli nationalist march in Jerusalem
Palestinian shops vandalised during Israeli nationalist Jerusalem Day march. Traders delayed as locks broken, racist stickers posted on shutters. Volunteers cleaning graffiti briefly stopped by police. Palestinian traders in Jerusalem's Old City returned to their shops on Tuesday to clean up a day after a march by Israeli nationalists that saw scuffles, insults and acts of vandalism. Some had to use crowbars, hammers and wirecutters to regain access to their own shops after many were vandalised during the Jerusalem Day march the day before. Jerusalem Day commemorates Israeli forces taking east Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. On Tuesday, metal shutters protecting the shopfronts bore the marks of the parade's passing, with padlocks blocked and stickers slapped upon them. 'No humanitarian aid for Gaza,' read one sticker from Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power). The far-right party headed by firebrand politician and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had a major presence in Monday's march. Ben Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, during the Jerusalem Day events. Israel considers all of Jerusalem, including the annexed Palestinian-majority east, its indivisible capital. The international community does not recognise this, and Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. On Tuesday, when employees of an east Jerusalem electricity supplier arrived at their office they discovered the front windows broken and the door blocked. 'Childish acts' A company official, Ismail Eshqart, came from headquarters to change the lock and assess the damage. He told AFP they had expected 'a little more tension' than usual this year in the alley in the Muslim Quarter where Palestinians and a few Israeli residents, mostly religious Jews, mingle daily. He said there had been 'deliberate acts of vandalism', but he did not name the suspected perpetrators. 'It's the same story every year,' said clothes seller Abu Osama, referring to Jerusalem Day marchers. 'They come and attack shops, make them close, and they break things, they throw firecrackers,' he told AFP as a municipal employee arrived with an electric saw to cut the padlock on the door of his sabotaged shop. 'They do what they want and nobody says to them 'what are you doing? That's not allowed'!' Abu Osama added, angry at lost time over 'childish acts' that made him open several hours late. Fruit sellers at stalls in front of the Damascus Gate into the Old City shared his dismay, but shrugged as they unloaded boxes of cherries and peaches. 'The situation is worse and worse,' said grandmother Umm Mohammed who was born in the Old City and had come to do her shopping. 'It's crazy!' 'We want to live in peace - we are kind people,' she said, adding that she did not leave the house on Monday. Umm Mohammed said that last year, one man she knows 'came out of his house and they hit him - and he is a big guy!' Armed with solvent and sponges, a group of around 10 Israeli and foreign volunteers arrived on Tuesday morning to help clean up in the march's aftermath. 'I came to do what I could, even if it's not much,' said one volunteer who asked not to be identified. They scuttled between the shops, trying to avoid police patrols, but several were briefly stopped for allegedly disturbing the peace. Contacted by AFP, police did not respond to a request for comment. 'It's really upside down. It's crazy,' said 24-year-old Joshua Korn of the Israeli-Palestinian activist group Standing Together. 'It's crazy because these people who are here to protect us... they shout at us that we're provoking... just because we're here to remove racist graffiti and stickers that have been put up by settlers in an act of provocation!' Korn said of the police.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Palestinians Clean up after Israeli Nationalist March in Jerusalem
Palestinian traders in Jerusalem's Old City returned to their shops on Tuesday to clean up a day after a march by Israeli nationalists that saw scuffles, insults and acts of vandalism. Some had to use crowbars, hammers and wirecutters to regain access to their own shops after many were vandalised during the Jerusalem Day march the day before. Jerusalem Day commemorates Israeli forces taking east Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. On Tuesday, metal shutters protecting the shopfronts bore the marks of the parade's passing, with padlocks blocked and stickers slapped upon them, AFP reported. "No humanitarian aid for Gaza," read one sticker from Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power). The far-right party headed by firebrand politician and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had a major presence in Monday's march. Ben Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, during the Jerusalem Day events. Israel considers all of Jerusalem, including the annexed Palestinian-majority east, its indivisible capital. The international community does not recognize this, and Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. On Tuesday, when employees of an east Jerusalem electricity supplier arrived at their office they discovered the front windows broken and the door blocked. - 'Childish acts' - A company official, Ismail Eshqart, came from headquarters to change the lock and assess the damage. He told AFP they had expected "a little more tension" than usual this year in the alley in the Muslim Quarter where Palestinians and a few Israeli residents, mostly religious Jews, mingle daily. He said there had been "deliberate acts of vandalism", but he did not name the suspected perpetrators. "It's the same story every year," said clothes seller Abu Osama, referring to Jerusalem Day marchers. "They come and attack shops, make them close, and they break things, they throw firecrackers," he told AFP as a municipal employee arrived with an electric saw to cut the padlock on the door of his sabotaged shop. "They do what they want and nobody says to them 'what are you doing? That's not allowed'!" Abu Osama added, angry at lost time over "childish acts" that made him open several hours late. Fruit sellers at stalls in front of the Damascus Gate into the Old City shared his dismay, but shrugged as they unloaded boxes of cherries and peaches. "The situation is worse and worse," said grandmother Umm Mohammed who was born in the Old City and had come to do her shopping. - 'It's crazy!' - "We want to live in peace -- we are kind people," she said, adding that she did not leave the house on Monday. Umm Mohammed said that last year, one man she knows "came out of his house and they hit him -- and he is a big guy!" Armed with solvent and sponges, a group of around 10 Israeli and foreign volunteers arrived on Tuesday morning to help clean up in the march's aftermath. "I came to do what I could, even if it's not much," said one volunteer who asked not to be identified. They scuttled between the shops, trying to avoid police patrols, but several were briefly stopped for allegedly disturbing the peace. Contacted by AFP, police did not respond to a request for comment. "It's really upside down. It's crazy," said 24-year-old Joshua Korn of the Israeli-Palestinian activist group Standing Together. "It's crazy because these people who are here to protect us... they shout at us that we're provoking... just because we're here to remove racist graffiti and stickers that have been put up by settlers in an act of provocation!" Korn said of the police.
