Israel

(Reuters) --- Israel’s opposition leader moved closer to unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and forming a new government after agreeing terms with several parties including one led by Defence Minister Benny Gantz, a spokesman said.

During a 12-year run in top office, Netanyahu has been an often polarising figure at home and abroad. An end to his tenure may bring reprieve from domestic political turmoil, but major shifts in Israel’s foreign policy appear less likely from the staunch U.S. ally.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Isaac Herzog, a veteran politician and the scion of a prominent Israeli family, has been elected president, a largely ceremonial role.

An anonymous vote was held Tuesday among the 120 members of the Knesset, or parliament.

Herzog, 60, is a former head of Israel’s Labor Party and opposition leader who unsuccessfully ran against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the 2013 parliamentary elections.

He will succeed Reuven Rivlin, who is set to leave office next month.

01 June 2021; MEMO: Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman yesterday questioned whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has lost" his mental stability, Al-Watan Voice reported.

Quoting the Israeli Public Broadcaster (Kan), Al-Watan Voice reported Lieberman saying: "I have watched the most recent video of Netanyahu. It is not clear whether this man enjoys 100 per cent mental stability."

01 June 2021; MEMO: Some 400,000 people in Israel do not currently have work as a result of coronavirus closures, a survey conducted by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) revealed yesterday.

(Reuters) --- A last-gasp legal challenge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to thwart a bid by a rival rightist to head a new government was rejected on Tuesday as his opponents raced to seal a pact that would unseat him.

Naftali Bennett, Netanyahu's former defence minister, announced on Sunday he would join a proposed alliance with centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid, serving as its premier first under a rotation deal. 

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister on Monday distanced himself from comments made by his military chief after Israel bombed a Gaza Strip high-rise housing an Associated Press office and other news outlets, saying the remarks were not meant to be taken literally.

In an article published on the website of Channel 12 news over the weekend, the military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, was quoted as saying that “the building was destroyed justly” and he did not have a “gram of regret.”

JERUSALEM, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Israeli nationalist lawmaker Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday that he has accepted a coalition deal with centrist Yair Lapid to form "the government of change" to oust Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister.

Bennett, leader of the small pro-settler Yamaina party, said in a statement that he and Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, will work to put together a coalition government following the March 23 elections.

31 May 2021; MEMO: The Israeli Foreign Ministry has summoned the Philippines envoy, Macairog Alberto, to protest against his country's vote in favour of forming an inquiry commission into Israel's violations in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reported.

(Reuters) --- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu manoeuvred on Sunday to try to dissuade opponents from forming a "government of change", with media reports saying a deal to unseat Israel's longest-serving leader could be imminent.

Opposition chief Yair Lapid, who has until Wednesday to put together a coalition after the fourth inconclusive election in two years, was closing in on an alliance of right-wing, centrist and leftist parties, Israeli media reported.

30 May 2021; MEMO: Israel was gripped by the political drama on Sunday over the possibly imminent end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's record run as the country's leader, reports Reuters.