‘Enough is enough’: Palestinians and Israelis share views ahead of elections
On the eve of Israel’s general election, some Israelis call for change while others back Benjamin Netanyahu to stay in power. In Gaza, Palestinians say a change of leadership would do little to alter the reality of life under occupation.
Move comes after attorney general blocks Shin Bet call to interrogate politicians from Palestinian-led parties Israel’s election commission on Wednesday confirmed the final results of last week’s vote that stripped Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition of its governing majority, rejecting claims of mass fraud promoted by the prime minister. The main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, said Netanyahu had launched a “pogrom against democracy” in attempting to hold on to power by discrediting valid votes and weaponising security forces against parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Even Trump seems to recognize that the relationship has become a political liability, and may never be the same On the eve of a midterm election that ended in an unequivocal rejection of his brand of politics, even Donald Trump seemed to recognize that the US-Israel relationship had become a political liability. Trump’s 11th-hour suggestion, on election morning, that he would cut military aid to Israel at the end of the year because, as he put it, “they don’t need it”, was condemned across the board – with pro-Palestinian advocates dismissing it as “desperate” and pro-Israel ones as “unserious
Dr Richard Skues responds to an article by Jonathan Freedland in which he says the opposition can’t win unless they join forces with Arab parties Jonathan Freedland is surely right that the Israeli political parties opposed to Benjamin Netanyahu should make common cause with their Palestinian fellow citizens (This is the hard lesson from Israel’s election: to stop nationalist populists, you can’t play by gentlemen’s rules, 30 October). He is also right to be pessimistic, recognising that “Israel’s Jewish-led parties have long shunned the mainly Arab parties because the latter identify as anti-
Contested West Bank holy site is reopened exclusively for Israelis, deepening tensions over control of the mosque.
The Republican midterm rout is helping shape who leads Israel next, as Netanyahu’s US ties turn toxic.
President calls on all parties to help avoid new election after Netanyahu and Eisenkot blocs fell short of majority Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, was due to meet Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief political rival, Gadi Eisenkot, on Thursday with less than a week left before he decides which of the two men should first try to form a government. A bitterly contested election last month, seen by many observers as one of the most consequential for Israel in many decades, ended with neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot, a former military general and chief of staff, securing a clear pathway to power.