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An official in Netanyahu's office played down concerns, saying: "The prime minister along with the finance minister intend to pass a responsible budget in the coming weeks that will serve all Israelis. "The finance clerks don't understand Haredim," ultra-Orthodox lawmaker Yizhak Pindrus told Kan radio. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the funds would fix years of injustice toward the Haredim, whose children often are packed into derelict classrooms. Government figures already forecast Israel's economic growth will ease in 2023 from 6.5% in 2022 to about 2.7% and down from the 3% forecast in January. "Netanyahu has sold Israel's economy and our children's future in order to stay in power," said opposition leader Yair Lapid.
JERUSALEM, April 3 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit troops with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, an aide said on Monday, as Israel's public broadcaster reported he had decided to delay the dismissal of the minister announced more than a week ago. Netanyahu announced he was firing Gallant on March 26, following his defence chief's public call to halt a highly contested judicial overhaul. With tensions running high during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year coincides with the Jewish Passover, public broadcaster Kan reported on Monday that Netanyahu had decided to hold off on firing the minister. "Due to the evolving security situation, Netanyahu will attend to the matter of the defence minister down the line," the broadcaster cited a political source as saying. Two Israeli officials who requested anonymity said Gallant and Netanyahu would on Monday evening visit two military bases to toast troops for the Passover holiday.
JERUSALEM, March 29 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced confidence on Wednesday that he would find compromise with the political opposition over his judicial overhaul after the contested reforms drew a strong reproach from U.S. President Joe Biden. Separately, Netanyahu predicted on Wednesday that Israel would join the U.S. Visa Waiver Programme in September after passing legislation required by Washington. The national guard was launched last year under former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. "We don't trust the government and certainly not the prime minister and his gang," said 75-year-old retiree Chanoch Lipperman in Tel Aviv. But Biden, when asked by a reporter if he would be inviting Netanyahu, replied: "No, not in the near term."
Israel's Netanyahu buys time, but is still in a fix
  + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Angus Mcdowall | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +4 min
It shows the dilemma facing Israel's longest-serving prime minister, who managed a comeback last year, brushing aside an ongoing corruption scandal and the political obituaries written after his last coalition collapsed in 2020. Announcing the delay of the judicial law on television, Netanyahu cited the wisdom of Solomon to say he would extend a hand for dialogue. With polls showing his coalition would lose any new election, Netanyahu can meanwhile count on little goodwill from old foes and former allies still sore from previous encounters. Netanyahu describes the cases as politically motivated, denies wrongdoing and says they are not linked to his judicial reforms. His coalition partners include hard-right supporters of Jewish settlers, who have dismayed Israel's foreign allies with harsh statements about Palestinians.
(Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday agreed to suspend a planned judiciary reform until the next parliament session after nationwide protests paralyzed the country. Netanyahu agreed with one of his hard-right coalition partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir, that the judiciary overhaul bill would be given an extension to the next session to pass the reform through negotiations, NBC reported. As part of the agreement, a National Guard will be set up under Ben-Gvir's Ministry of National Security. The latest development indicates Netanyahu has not yet given up on the contentious reform bill, despite huge protests and widespread strikes. The prime minister — who is the longest-serving in Israel's history — was expected to announce a pause to the legislation on Monday, but the delivery of his statement was postponed three times, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Israel's Netanyahu met by protests on London visit
  + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Muvija M | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
[1/4] Demonstrators protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Britain, in London, Britain March 24, 2023. Netanyahu shook hands with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the steps of Downing Street while nearby protesters held up Israeli flags and shouted "Netanyahu go to jail, you can't speak for Israel". "We're here to protest against Netanyahu, to protest against his attacks on democracy," said Amnon Cohn, who described himself as an Israeli living in London since 2005. Outside Downing Street protesters, surrounded by British police and restricted by metal barricades, waved signs saying "You can't enjoy a weekend in London when you're bringing down a democracy!". "We are more determined than Bibi is," said Liron Rosiner Reshef, an Israeli-born protester in London using a popular nickname for Netanyahu.
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - Eleven weeks into his third stint as Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to be received at the White House, signaling apparent U.S. unhappiness over the policies of his right-wing government. The White House declined to confirm Netanyahu has yet to be invited. A State Department spokesperson referred Reuters to the Israeli government for information about the prime minister's travel plans. The United States has long been Israel’s main benefactor, sending more than $3 billion each year in military assistance. Baker later banned Netanyahu, at the time a deputy minister of foreign affairs, from the State Department after he criticized U.S. policy toward Israel.
JERUSALEM, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday promised a stronger Israeli response in dealing with a spate of Palestinian attacks in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, as pressure swelled within his right-wing government to employ more severe tactics. Tensions are also high in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have carried out hundreds of arrests in recent months during near-daily raids that have seen bloody gunbattles with Palestinian militants. Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu's far-right national security minister, said however that police had already begun a major enforcement campaign in East Jerusalem that would include measures from handing out traffic tickets to demolishing houses of Palestinian attackers. Speaking in Cairo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians were facing a "lethal assault," and repeated a pledge to pursue action against Israel before the United Nations and International Criminal Court. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN Tuesday that he would mediate the war in Ukraine if the US asked him. Netanyahu said he was previously unofficially asked to mediate at the beginning of the war. Netanyahu also told Tapper that he was previously tapped to mediate "early on in the breakout"of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, clarifying that it was an "unofficial" request. He deferred to Israel's sitting prime minister at the time. In January of this year, more than 30 Palestinians and seven Israelis have been killed in West Bank raids and other shootings.
Israel's Netanyahu defends plan to rein in judiciary
  + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
In a video response to stark criticism by Supreme Court President Esther Hayut, Netanyahu said the draft law could be tweaked but critics were exaggerating the changes proposed. Hayut on Thursday said that if implemented as outlined by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the reform would compromise judiciary independence. "If the plan is realized, (Israel's) 75th anniversary will be remembered as the year the country's democratic integrity suffered a mortal blow," he said. Backers of the bill have long accused the Supreme Court of overreach and elitism. They say the changes would restore balance between the judiciary, executive and legislature.
Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as Israel's prime minister again on Thursday. Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as Israel's prime minister again on Thursday in a comeback at the head of a hard-right cabinet that promises to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and pursue other policies criticised at home and abroad. For Palestinians, Netanyahu's line-up has darkened an already bleak outlook, with violence surging and Jewish settlements set to expand in the West Bank - among territories where they hope to build a future state. This year has already seen some of the worst West Bank violence since 2015 as Israeli forces have cracked down on Palestinian unrest and militant attacks. Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, warned on Sunday against causing potential harm to individuals' rights.
"The new government is determined to restore ... quiet and personal security to the citizens of Israel," Netanyahu told parliament on Thursday before his swearing in. For Netanyahu, who described himself in his recent autobiography as "conservative but decidedly not extreme", such allies are likely to provide challenges aplenty in the months ahead as even Israel's closest allies watch with unease. To complicate matters further, Netanyahu is himself fighting corruption charges alleging he unlawfully received gifts and granted regulatory favours in return for positive news coverage. A resumption looks increasingly unlikely, with some members of Religious Zionism talking openly about annexing the West Bank, dashing whatever hope remains of a Palestinian state. The United States, Israel's closest ally, has been circumspect in offering criticism although officials including President Joe Biden have pointedly repeated Washington's support for the two-state solution.
JERUSALEM, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu moved one step further on Tuesday toward establishing a government after parliament approved divisive legislation agreed with his far-right coalition partners. A second amendment will allow Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, to serve as a minister despite a conviction for tax fraud. Deri is expected to serve as finance minister in two years, in a rotation deal with Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich. But soon after the legislation was passed, Israel's Supreme Court said it would hear an appeal against Deri's appointment by a group of scientists, academics and former diplomats called "Democracy's Bastion." In response, Netanyahu has repeatedly said that he will safeguard civil rights and will not allow any harm to the country's Arab minority or to the LGBTQ community.
Israel's Netanyahu looks to vote in new government on Thursday
  + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
JERUSALEM, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu called a vote in parliament on his new government for Thursday Dec. 29, the speaker of the Knesset said on Monday, after almost two months of coalition wrangling. Despite campaigning together, Netanyahu has struggled to meet the demands of his allies, who have demanded a significant slice of power in exchange for their support. Ahead of the vote in parliament and a formal swearing in of the new government, Netanyahu will have to officially present the members of his cabinet. The finance ministry is expected to be shared by Smotrich and Aryeh Deri, from the religious Shas party, with each man serving for two years. Deri's appointment will depend on parliamentary support for a legal amendment allowing him to serve despite a conviction for tax fraud.
JERUSALEM, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Israel's longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Wednesday he had secured a deal to form a new government after weeks of unexpectedly tough negotiations with religious and far-right coalition partners. "I have managed (to form a government)," Netanyahu said on Twitter, minutes before a midnight deadline set by President Isaac Herzog. Netanyahu's conservative Likud and like-minded religious-nationalist parties close to the ultra-Orthodox and West Bank settler communities won a comfortable majority in a Nov 1 election, promising him 64 of parliaments's 120 seats. But agreement to form a government was held up by disputes over a package of proposed legislation on issues ranging from planning authority in the West Bank to ministerial control over the police. At the same time, Aryeh Deri, head of the religious Shas party, is bidding to become finance minister, despite a conviction for tax fraud.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a ceremony in Jerusalem, April 13, 2021. Debbie Hill | ReutersVotes are being counted after Israelis cast their ballots in the country's fifth election since 2019. This would be a controversial and dramatic comeback for the lightning-rod politician, whom Israelis tend to either love or hate. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel's history, and is currently charged with multiple counts of corruption with investigations and legal proceedings ongoing. In order to lead the government in Israel, a party has to win a majority of 61 seats — the magic number — in Parliament.
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