Israel

2 Oct 2019; MEMO: Talks to form a national unity government in Israel hit a further snag on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s centrist election rival called off a meeting with the embattled leader reports Reuters.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli court on Wednesday ordered a former Australian school principal suspected of sexual assault, and who Australia is seeking to extradite, released from prison to house arrest.

Implementation of the Jerusalem District Court’s decision was delayed until Friday to give the prosecution time to appeal.

Australia has been pressing Israel to extradite Malka Leifer, who fled from Australia in 2008, with what Australian authorities believe was the assistance of the insular Adass Jewish community, after accusations against her surfaced.

Jerusalem, Oct 2 (AFP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lawyers arrived for his pre-indictment hearing on corruption allegations Wednesday and pledged to convince prosecutors to drop the cases against him.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit had in February announced his intention to indict the premier for bribery, fraud and breach of trust pending a hearing in three separate cases.

He is accused of acting on behalf of wealthy supporters and businessmen in exchange for gifts or favourable news coverage.

30 Sep 2019; MEMO: An Israeli radio station has said that the country is likely to have a third General Election soon after the second round of coalition talks between the Likud and Blue and White parties failed to reach agreement yesterday. Blaming each other for the failure of the talks, the parties nevertheless agreed to meet again for a “last ditch” effort on Wednesday, the same day that Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption hearing begins.

28 Sep 2019; MEMO: A four-hour meeting between the Likud and Blue and White parties has ended on Friday afternoon, without reaching a deal on a coalition government, Arab48.com reported.

Teams from both parties have agreed to resume their talks next week, on the basis of the plan initiated by Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, stipulating a rotation of leadership.

27 Sep 2019; MEMO: Israeli authorities yesterday demolished all the homes and tents in the Palestinian Bedouin village of Al-Araqeeb in the Negev desert for the 162th time, displacing its residents.

According to local sources, Israeli police forces and employees from the Bedouin development authority, which is responsible for such demolitions, stormed the village and forcibly removed the residents from their homes before razing their homes.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Thursday for his pre-trial hearing next week on corruption allegations to be broadcast live, saying that “the time has come for the public to hear everything, including my side”.

Following a deadlocked Sept. 17 election, Netanyahu is fighting for a fifth term in office that might confer legal immunity in three long-running cases that he has cast as a baseless and politically motivated witch-hunt.

26 Sep 2019; MEMO: Israel’s president tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday with assembling a new government after power-sharing talks with his strongest rival, Benny Gantz, failed following an inconclusive election, Reuters reports.

Netanyahu, head of the right-wing Likud party, and Israel’s longest-serving leader, still has no clear path to a fifth term after emerging from the Sept. 17 ballot, the second this year, short of a parliamentary majority.

JERUSALEM, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Israel's president on Wednesday requested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to assemble the next government, tasking the decade-long leader with solving a political stalemate following inconclusive elections.

Netanyahu will have up to six weeks, beginning Thursday, to form a majority coalition.

He is facing struggles as his right-wing Likud faction won 32 seats in last Tuesday's voting, far cry from the needed 61 seats to form a majority coalition in the 120-seat parliament, or Knesset.

25 Sep 2019; MEMO: Reports in the Israeli media yesterday suggested that Blue and White chair Benny Gantz is open to a coalition government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Likud negotiators work on sweetening such a deal.