Page 26 - Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu briefly freezes Golan wind turbine project that set off clashes

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a brief freeze in construction on a wind turbine project in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that set off a rare clash between Druze residents and police. Netanyahu said late Saturday he agreed to a pause on the project during this week's Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, which is meant to allow time for talks to defuse the crisis. The project is expected to resume next week. A statement from Netanyahu's office said he made the decision based on advice from security officials. The Druze oppose the plan, which would install more than two dozen 200-metre tall turbines throughout their land. The landowners said the turbines will harm their agricultural output and that the energy company behind the project didn't consult with them in good faith, a claim the company denies. Last week, thousands of residents demonstrated against the project, storming a police station, throwing stones and fireworks, setting tires on fire, vandalising pol

Israeli PM Netanyahu says he's opposed to any interim US-Iran nuclear deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he opposes any interim agreement reportedly being negotiated between the US and Iran over its nuclear programme. Netanyahu spoke after reports in Israeli media said understandings are being reached between Washington and Tehran that would seek to hold back Iran's nuclear programme somewhat, in exchange for some sanctions relief. The reports could not be independently confirmed and the U.S. has publicly denied any such deal. Netanyahu said Israel had informed the U.S. that the most limited understandings, what are termed mini-agreements', do not in our view serve the goal and we are opposed to them as well. Israeli officials believe some understandings have already been reached limiting enrichment and that some funds have already been unfrozen. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a confidential diplomatic assessment. The Israeli news site Walla last week reported that under the emer

Crime within Palestinian minority reaches new heights under Netanyahu govt

A relentless wave of violent crime within Israel's Palestinian minority is turning cities and towns into bloody battlefields, exasperating a community feeling increasingly forsaken by Israeli authorities. Anger over the mounting insecurity is directed at Israel's government and its ultranationalist minister in charge of police, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Critics say that with his history of anti-Arab rhetoric, he cannot be trusted to combat the rising scourge. The skyrocketing violence lays bare the deep inequities in Israeli society, with Arabs facing years of discrimination that activists say laid the groundwork for the unabating bloodshed. More than 100 people have been killed in violent crime in Arab communities this year, nearly three times higher than at the same time last year, according to the Abraham Initiatives, a group that promotes Jewish-Arab coexistence and safe communities. It also is more than three times the murder rate in the majority Jewish sector, according to official ..

Israeli Oppn leaders freeze settlement talks on Netanyahu's overhaul

Israeli opposition leaders have announced that they had suspended the negotiations on settling a controversial judicial overhaul spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel's former prime minister testifies at Netanyahu's corruption trial

Israel's opposition leader testified for the prosecution on Monday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption trial in Jerusalem. Yair Lapid, a former prime minister himself and a major Netanyahu rival, is testifying in one of three cases against Netanyahu. The indictment claims Netanyahu used his position of power to further Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan's interests in exhange for gifts, representing a conflict between the premier's public duties and personal friendship. Netanyahu did personal favors for Milchan, including asking US officials to extend Milchan's US resident's permit and extending Israeli regulations exempting Israeli returnees from declaring foreign income, according to the indictment. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, denies claims of wrongdoing, saying he was not acting in Milchan's personal interests and even occasionally acted against them. He says the exchanges of gifts were just friendly gestures. Milchan is expected to testify in

Netanyahu appoints new media advisor who has been critical of Biden: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a new media advisor who has tweeted critically against President Joe Biden, the daily Haaretz reported. The appointment comes at a time when US-Israel relations are strained. Gilad Zwick, a journalist with a conservative Israeli TV station, has in his tweets called Biden "unfit" to rule and said that he was "slowly but surely destroying America". He also posted tweets suggesting he supported President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 US election was rigged. At least one of the tweets that was live earlier was deleted later in the day. Zwick did not respond to a request for comment but tweeted on Monday in English that he was a private citizen when writing the posts about Biden. "I don't hold those views today and I will act in a completely professional manner in the prime minister's office," he said. Zwick had previously worked for Israel Hayom, a pro-Netanyahu daily. Netanyahu's office declined to comment. Zwick's

Israel's Netanyahu appoints a Joe Biden critic as new media advisor: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a new media advisor who has tweeted critically against President Joe Biden, the daily Haaretz reported. The appointment comes at a time when US-Israel relations are strained. Gilad Zwick, a journalist with a conservative Israeli TV station, has in his tweets called Biden "unfit" to rule and said that he was "slowly but surely destroying America." He also posted tweets suggesting he supported President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 US election was rigged. The tweets were still online on Monday. Both Netanyahu's office and Zwick did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zwick previously worked for Israel Hayom, a pro-Netanyahu daily. Zwick's appointment comes as ties between Israel and its closest ally, the US, are fraught over a contentious Israeli government plan to overhaul the judiciary and over the government's ultranationalist character. Biden has publicly expressed concern over the Netanyahu ...

Israeli PM Netanyahu reverses firing of defense minister amid tension

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday reversed his decision to fire his defense minister over criticism of the government's contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary. In a televised speech, Netanyahu said that Yoav Gallant is staying at his post. I decided to put the differences we had behind us, he said. Gallant remains in his position and we will continue to work together for the security of the citizens of Israel. In a tweet showing himself sitting next to Netanyahu, Gallant wrote: We continue together with full strength, for Israel's security. Netanyahu announced late last month that Gallant was fired. The decision set off a wave of spontaneous mass protests and a general strike that threatened to paralyze the country, forcing the Israeli leader to suspend his divisive plan to overhaul the judicial system. Netanyahu never sent Gallant a formal termination letter. As of Monday, Gallant whose criticism of Netanyahu's planned judicial changes led to his dismissal

Israelis continue to protest legal overhaul despite suspension by Netanyahu

Tens of thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against a controversial plan to revamp the country's legal system, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's suspension of the changes earlier in the week. The protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub on the Mediterranean, for the 13th weekly demonstration, raising Israeli flags and banners against what they said were plans to weaken the Supreme Court. Several smaller rallies took place in other towns and cities. The protests have been going on since Netanyahu's government, the most right-wing in the country's history, introduced the changes. But on Monday, Netanyahu delayed the overhaul plan that deeply divided the Israelis, saying he wanted to avoid civil war by making time to seek a compromise with political opponents. Protest organizers, however, vowed to keep up the pressure, calling for the plans to be scrapped. The proposal has plunged Israel into its worst domestic crisis in decades. Business leaders, top

Netanyahu supporters block Tel Aviv's main highway to support judicial plan

Thousands of right-wing Israelis on Thursday blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv as they demonstrated in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the country's judicial system. The crowd was much smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people who have taken to the streets in recent months to demonstrate against the plan. But the gathering had the same effect. Protesters honked their car horns and hoisted blue and white Israeli flags crippling traffic along the Ayalon highway, the main north-south thoroughfare running through the coastal city. After especially intense protests, Netanyahu this week froze the plan and began negotiations with his political opponents aimed at finding a compromise plan. But his opponents have vowed to continue their protests as well. The plan would give Netanyahu's parliamentary coalition control over judicial appointments and the power to overturn Supreme Court decisions it opposes. Netanyahu and his allies say the plan is needed

Netanyahu rejects Joe Biden's suggestion to pause judicial overhaul

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rebuffed President Joe Biden's suggestion that the premier walks away from a contentious plan to overhaul the legal system, saying the country makes its own decisions. The exchange was a rare bout of public disagreement between the two close allies and signals building friction between Israel and the U.S. over Netanyahu's judicial changes, which he postponed after massive protests. Asked by reporters late Tuesday what he hopes the premier does with the legislation, Biden replied, I hope he walks away from it. The president added that Netanyahu's government cannot continue down this road" and urged compromise on the plan roiling Israel. The president also stepped around U.S. Ambassador Thomas Nides' suggestion that Netanyahu would soon be invited to the White House, saying, No, not in the near term. Netanyahu replied that Israel is sovereign and makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroa

Israel PM Netanyahu delays judicial reform plan amid general strike

Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to back down on controversial plans to overhaul the country's judiciary on Monday, amid unprecedented nationwide strikes

Israeli govt in chaos as judicial reform plans draw mass protests: Report

Israel faced one of the biggest waves of industrial action seen in years after the nation's largest union federation on Monday, Histadrut union, called for a general strike

Israeli president urges Netanyahu to halt legal overhaul amid protests

Israel's ceremonial president on Monday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately halt a contentious overhaul of the judiciary. Isaac Herzog's plea comes hours after tens of thousands of people burst into the streets around the country in a spontaneous show of anger at Netanyahu's decision to fire his defense minister after he called for a pause to the overhaul. The overhaul has sparked one of Israel's gravest domestic crises, drawing widespread opposition from business leaders, legal officials and even the country's military.

Israel PM Netanyahu fires defence minister, sparks protest across country

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of cities across the country on Sunday night in a spontaneous outburst of anger after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defence minister for challenging the Israeli leader's judicial overhaul plan. Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires, while police scuffled with protesters who gathered outside Netanyahu's private home in Jerusalem. The unrest deepened a monthslong crisis over Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary, which has sparked mass protests, alarmed business leaders and former security chiefs and drawn concern from the United States and other close allies. Netanyahu's dismissal of defence Minister Yoav Gallant signaled that the prime minister and his allies will barrel ahead this week with the overhaul plan. Gallant had been the first senior member of the ruling Likud party to speak out against it, saying the deep divisions were threatening to weaken the military. But

Israeli governance group asks court to punish PM Netanyahu over legal plan

An Israeli good governance group on Sunday asked the country's Supreme Court to punish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly violating a conflict of interest agreement meant to prevent him from dealing with the country's judiciary while he is on trial for corruption. The request by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel intensifies a brewing showdown between Netanyahu's government and the judiciary, which it is trying to overhaul in a contentious plan that has sparked widespread opposition. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a fierce opponent of the overhaul, asked the court to force Netanyahu to obey the law and sanction him either with a fine or prison time for not doing so, saying he was not above the law. A prime minister who doesn't obey the court and the provisions of the law is privileged and an anarchist, said Eliad Shraga, the head of the group, echoing language used by Netanyahu and his allies against protesting opponents of the overhaul. The

Israel's minister calls govt to halt judicial reform in jolt to Netanyahu

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has called upon the government to stop the controversial judicial overhaul legislation that has sparked protests across the country, sticking his neck out amid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence to go ahead with the proposed "reforms". His intervention came as Israelis opposed to the changes held mass rallies across the country for the twelfth week in a row. "The security of the State of Israel is my life's mission. Over the course of my entire adult life, I have dealt with Israel's security day in and day out," Gallant, Netanyahu's close aide, said on Saturday. He said that he still supported the need to revamp the court system, but acknowledged that unprecedented feelings of anger, pain and disappointment have risen within the military over the proposed changes to Israel's balance of power. The revamp includes enabling Parliament to overrule decisions made by the Supreme Court - a move that critics say will undermine the independe

Israeli PM Netanyahu urges military chief to contain reservist protest

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the military's chief of staff on Sunday to contain a wave of protest from within the ranks over a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary. Netanyahu's remarks come as Israel is embroiled in a major crisis that has sent tens of thousands of people into the streets protesting every week for the last two months. The divide over Netanyahu's plans to change the legal system has not spared the country's military, its most trusted institution, where many reservists have pledged not to show up for duty under what they see as impending regime change. Starting Sunday, more than 700 elite officers from the Air Force, special forces, and Mossad said they would stop volunteering for duty. The typically taboo talk of refusal to serve in a military that is compulsory for most Jews and is highly respected by the Jewish majority underlines how deeply the overhaul plan has divided Israel. Netanyahu has rejected a compromise plan proposed

SVB bankruptcy created major crisis in tech industry: Israeli PM Netanyahu

Netanyahu said that he's been in touch with senior Israeli tech figures following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States

Netanyahu wishes Modi, Indians on Holi; PM greets Israelis on Purim

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for his wishes on Holi and extended greetings to the people of Israel on Jewish festival of Purim. "Happy Holi to my friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India!" Netanyahu tweeted. May the vibrant colours of this festival fill your lives with happiness, joy, and prosperity, Netanyahu said. "Wishing you all a colorful and memorable Holi!" he said. Responding to Netanyahu's tweet, Modi said, "Thank you my friend, PM Netanyahu for your special Holi wishes. People all over India mark this festival with great vibrancy." "I also wish you and the people of Israel a happy Purim. Chag Sameach!" he said.