JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top ministers are squabbling, a deadline looms for contentious legislation that may bring down his government and a corruption indictment could be just around the corner.
Against this backdrop, there are growing signs he may soon call for elections — possibly as early as next week, when parliament reconvenes from its summer break. And though Netanyahu hasn’t committed yet, conditions appear ripe for him to schedule the vote, nearly a year ahead of schedule.
Polls, for now at least, predict a solid Netanyahu victory, one that would assure his place in history as Israel’s longest-serving leader and allow him to solidify his close alliance with President Donald Trump. Another term would also allow Netanyahu to push forward with his nationalistic agenda and worldwide campaign to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
But one big obstacle could still trip him up: a mounting corruption investigation that may soon deliver criminal charges.
“It comes down to his electoral prospects and his legal situation,” said Avraham Diskin, a political scientist at Israel’s Hebrew University. “On both fronts he seems to be doing well for now, so he could easily manufacture a crisis and seize on it for elections.”
If he gets another term, Netanyahu would most likely build a government similar to the religious, nationalistic coalition he currently leads.
A strong showing in the polls could also shield him in the corruption case, the thinking goes, making it much harder for the attorney general to charge a popular, newly re-elected prime minister.
Netanyahu’s opening speech to the Knesset, or parliament, on Monday could give an indication as to which way he is leaning. On the agenda will be passing a new law mandating the military draft of ultra-Orthodox men, a political hot potato that has deeply divided the government.
Israel’s Supreme Court has dictated a Dec. 2 deadline to get the law passed and if his divided coalition partners remain inflexible, Netanyahu could use it as a pretext to dissolve parliament. With political parties focused on nationwide municipal elections later this month, Netanyahu’s final decision will likely come down in November, which would set up an election early next year.
Already, signs of coalition upheaval are everywhere.
Naftali Bennett, who heads the pro-settler Jewish Home party, has launched a scathing critique of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s handing of the past six months of violence along the Gaza border, in what is widely seen as a campaign to replace him.
Lieberman, who heads the nationalist, but secular, Yisrael Beiteinu faction, is also refusing to bend to an ultra-Orthodox demand that he eases the proposed legislation to draft young religious men.
Ultra-Orthodox parties consider conscription a taboo, fearing that military service will lead to immersion in secularism. But years of exemptions have generated widespread resentment among the rest of Jewish Israelis.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu held an impromptu press conference, fielding questions from the media for the first time in months in what was viewed as a warm-up for the election season.
Cabinet minister Gilad Erdan, a senior member of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, said he hadn’t heard from the prime minister on his plans.
“But it’s obvious that when Lieberman and the ultra-Orthodox are hardening their positions about the draft law, we have a problem abiding by the Supreme Court’s demand,” he told Israel’s Army Radio. “You can’t run the Knesset and the country when everyone does as they please.”
If history is any guide, elections look likely. The last time a government served its full term was in 1988. Since then, elections have almost always been moved up because of a coalition crisis or a strategic move by the prime minister to maximize his chance of re-election.
A poll aired Sunday on Israel’s top-rated Channel 2 newscast showed Netanyahu to be on solid ground.
The survey found that, if elections were held today, Netanyahu’s Likud party would get 32 seats of the 120-seat Knesset — a two seat jump from its current level — and his current coalition would score a solid majority. The centrist Yesh Atid party would earn 18 seats, while the center-left Zionist Union would trail with 12.
The poll had Netanyahu, with 38 percent support, as being the most suitable candidate for prime minister — far ahead of his closest competitor at 12 percent, retired military chief Benny Gantz who has yet to say whether he even plans to enter politics.
The Midgam poll surveyed more than 500 Israelis and had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
The biggest wild card for Netanyahu is the corruption investigation.
Police have already questioned Netanyahu a dozen times and recommended he be indicted on bribery and breach of trust charges in two cases. The first involves allegedly taking gifts from billionaires and the second for allegedly discussing legislation that favored a major newspaper in exchange for positive media coverage. Netanyahu has also been grilled about a corruption case involving Israel’s telecom giant.
This week, his wife, Sara Netanyahu, went on trial for fraud charges for allegedly overspending roughly $100,000 on celebrity chefs at their official residence, even when there was a full-time chef on staff.
Israel’s attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, is expected to make a decision on charges in the coming months.
Netanyahu has angrily rejected the accusations against him and his wife, calling them part of a media-orchestrated witch-hunt. His sense of indignation seems to have served him politically, rallying his conservative base in an assault on the supposed liberal elites plotting to get rid of him.
Israeli law is unclear whether a prime minister must step down if indicted. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Netanyahu refused to discuss the topic, expressing confidence that he would not be charged.
But later, his finance minister, Moshe Kahlon, said Netanyahu should step aside if charged, saying a prime minister under indictment “cannot function.”
If indicted, Netanyahu can expect such calls to grow — whether there are elections or not.
Israeli PM Netanyahu faces increasing pressure to call for early elections
Israeli PM Netanyahu faces increasing pressure to call for early elections
- Conditions appear ripe for Benjamin Netanyahu to schedule the vote, nearly a year ahead of schedule
- A poll aired Sunday on Israel’s top-rated Channel 2 newscast showed Netanyahu to be on solid ground
Israel to abolish free trade deal with Turkiye in retaliation
- Earlier this month, Turkiye said it was stopping exports to Israel during the duration of the Israel-Hamas war
JERUSALEM: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday said Israel would abolish its free trade agreement with Turkiye and also impose a 100 percent tariff on other imports from Turkiye in retaliation for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to halt exports to Israel.
The plan, he said, would be submitted to the cabinet for approval.
Earlier this month, Turkiye said it was stopping exports to Israel during the duration of the Israel-Hamas war, citing “worsening humanitarian tragedy” in the Palestinian territories. But the Turkish Trade Ministry has said that companies have three months to fulfil existing orders via third countries.
“His (Erdogan’s) announcement of the stoppage of imports to Israel constitutes a declaration of an economic boycott and a serious violation of international trade agreements to which Turkiye has committed,” Smotrich said in a statement.
He noted that Israel’s actions would only last as long as Erdogan remained in power.
“If at the end of Erdogan’s term the citizens of Turkiye elect a leader who is sane and not a hater of Israel, it would be possible to return the trade route with Turkiye,” Smotrich said.
Under Smotrich’s plan, all the reduced customs rates applicable to goods imported from Turkiye to Israel according to an agreement to the free trade deal would be abolished. At the same time, a duty would be imposed on any product imported from Turkiye to Israel at a rate of 100 percent of the value of the goods in addition to the existing duty rate.
The finance, economy and foreign ministries, the statement said, would also take steps to strengthen Israel’s manufacturing while diversifying sources of import to reduce the dependency on Turkiye.
Israel’s Manufacturers’ Association called Smotrich’s plan “an appropriate response” for not allowing Erdogan to damage the economy without a response.
Measured support for end of UN mission in Iraq
UNITED NATIONS: Several members of the UN Security Council, including Russia and China, on Thursday backed Baghdad’s request for the world body’s political mission in Iraq to shut down by next year — but Washington did not immediately offer its support.
Last week, in a letter to the council, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani called for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), which has been operational since 2003, to end by December 31, 2025.
Iraq’s deputy UN envoy Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi reiterated the request before the council on Thursday, saying: “The mission has achieved its goals.”
Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzia shared that view, saying “Iraqis are ready to take responsibility for the political future of their country.”
“The remaining problems should not become an excuse for UNAMI to stay in the country indefinitely,” he added.
Within the framework of the mission’s annual renewal, due at the end of May, the council should “propose a plan... in order to ensure its gradual drawdown and smooth transition toward an ultimate withdrawal,” noted China’s deputy UN envoy Geng Shuang.
Given that UN missions can only operate with the host nation’s consent, Britain and France also voiced support for a transition in the partnership between Iraq and the UN.
The US was more vague, with ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield saying UNAMI still had “important work to do,” and making no mention of Baghdad’s request.
She emphasized the mission’s key role on several important political issues, such as support for organizing elections and promoting human rights, even though Iraq has clearly asked that the mission focus more squarely on economic issues.
In an evaluation requested by the council, German diplomat Volker Perthes said in March that UNAMI, which had more than 700 staff as of late 2023, “in its present form, appears too big.”
Perthes called on the mission to “begin to transition its tasks to national institutions and the United Nations country team in a responsible, orderly and gradual manner within an agreed time frame.”
Without commenting on Baghdad’s request, mission chief Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert painted a picture of an Iraq that “looks different to the country to which UNAMI was first deployed some 20 years ago.”
“Today we are, so to speak, witnessing an Iraq on the rise,” she said, while noting multiple challenges yet unresolved, such as corruption and armed groups operating outside state control.
But she added: “I do believe it is high time to judge the country on progress made, and to turn the page on the darker images of Iraq’s past.”
ICRC officials to meet UK Foreign Office over plan for Palestinian detainees
- David Cameron reportedly negotiated deal with Israel’s government to allow two British legal observers and Israeli judge to visit some prisoners
LONDON: Officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross will hold talks with the UK Foreign Office over concerns about British plans to visit Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.
Foreign Secretary David Cameron has reportedly negotiated a deal with Israel’s government to allow two British legal observers and an Israeli judge to visit some prisoners being held in Israeli prisons amid reports of “inhumane treatment,” The Guardian reported on Thursday.
In an interview with the BBC at the weekend, Cameron said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the issue.
“It’s not all bleak ... I said it (the lack of access to detainees) was not good enough, that we needed to have a proper independent system for inspecting and regulating, and the Israelis have announced they are now doing that,” he said.
Netanyahu’s government has blocked ICRC staff from having any access to Palestinian detainees since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7. It has said the block will remain until Hamas allows access to Israeli hostages taken during the attack.
Critics say this stance could constitute a breach of the Geneva Conventions, with the ICRC having made repeated requests to both sides in the conflict to allow access to all those detained, as set out in the conventions.
Observers have also raised concerns that the UK plan will “weaken the rule of law” and could set a “dangerous precedent” for how detainees are treated in other conflict zones, The Guardian report added.
The ICRC’s director for the Middle East region, Fabrizio Carboni, is in London to hold talks with Foreign Office officials.
In a statement to The Guardian, the aid organization said Palestinian detainees must be treated as protected persons with access to the ICRC, as proscribed under the Geneva rules.
The statement added: “We have seen the reports of a government of Israel decision to allow observers to visit some places of detention. The ICRC remains hopeful that suitable steps are taken that could protect the health and welfare of detainees, which remains paramount. We reiterate our readiness to resume our mandated detention activities.”
Arab News columnist and director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, Chris Doyle, said the Foreign Office plan risked establishing a system that bypassed the ICRC and internationally accepted regulations.
“There is no transparency about Cameron’s alternative … I very much doubt that two Foreign Office-appointed lawyers in the company of a judge from the occupying power are going to have the expertise of the ICRC, but will instead be taken around sanitised prisons,” he said.
“What has happened to the thousands of Palestinians taken from Gaza to Israel is a huge issue. (Neither) we nor their families know where they are, whether they are combatants or children, or why in some cases they are being stripped to their underpants. We have heard nothing from the UK government about this,” he added.
During a week-long truce between Hamas and Israeli forces in November, the ICRC played an active role in facilitating the swap of 105 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
Residents cower as fighting picks up in Sudan’s Al-Fashir
CAIRO/DUBAI: Residents are fleeing missile fire and sheltering without food and water amid escalating fighting in the Sudanese city of Al-Fashir, witnesses and aid workers said, adding to fears of an all-out battle.
The city is the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in the western Darfur region. Its capture would be a major boost for the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as regional and international powers try to push the sides to negotiate an end to a 13-month war.
Locals and aid workers fear the clashes could also lead to a new round of bloodletting after ethnically-driven violence blamed on the RSF and its allies elsewhere in Darfur last year.
Many of Al-Fashir’s 1.6 million residents arrived during the violence between Arabs and non-Arabs that killed hundreds of thousands of people in the early-2000s. The RSF’s origins lie in the Arab janjaweed militias accused of ethnic cleansing and genocide then.
In recent weeks the RSF has almost surrounded Al-Fashir, capital of North Darfur state, while soldiers from the army and allied non-Arab armed groups fill the city.
In a sign of mounting ethnic tensions, Mini Minnawi, head of one of the groups, said on X he had made a wide call for fighters to come and defend Al-Fashir, in response to what he said was a similar call by the RSF.
Al-Fashir residents report snipers, stray missiles and army air strikes causing fires in the east and north of the city. Many civilians have taken up arms.
“The situation in the city has been difficult the past few days. Missiles from both sides are falling inside neighborhoods and homes, and getting to hospitals is dangerous,” said 38-year-old resident Hussein Adam.
Medical aid agency MSF said on Thursday that the city’s South Hospital had seen 489 casualties since May 10, including 64 deaths, though it said the real toll was far higher.
Another hospital it supports, which saw 27 people killed last weekend, was forced to shut down after an army air strike 50 meters away, MSF said.
The RSF and army blame each other for the violence.
On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on two top RSF commanders, including the force’s head of operations, for the attacks on Al-Fashir.
“We are prepared to take further action against those who actively escalate this war – including any offensive actions on El Fasher – create barriers to humanitarian access, or commit atrocities,” US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield posted on X.
Experts have raised warnings of impending famine in the displacement camps that dot Al-Fashir. The city also suffers from water shortages, network outages, and high prices.
In one of those camps, Abu Shouk in the north of the city, nine people were killed by stray missiles, camp leaders said on Sunday.
Residents say displaced people from eastern neighborhoods are sheltering under trees and in open squares.
“Most families have moved west, women and children with nothing to eat or drink,” said resident Mohamed Jamal, a volunteer with the local emergency response room.
The army has so far insisted that international aid delivered via Chad for other parts of Darfur pass through Al-Fashir, something that the escalating violence prevents.
Carl Skau, Chief Operating Officer of the World Food Programme, said the agency had trucks ready in the Chadian border town of Tina, but they needed to be able to move soon.
“The window is closing, the rains are coming and we need action in the next couple of weeks,” he told Reuters after a trip to Port Sudan where he tried to negotiate with the army for better access this week.
The UN’s World Food Programme expects more people are being driven to the brink of starvation in other parts of Sudan worst affected by the war including the capital Khartoum, El Gezira state and the Kordofan regions.
“We really need to step up a concerted effort to avoid an even worse catastrophe,” Skau said.
US military says aid pier anchored to Gaza beach
- The US Central Command said the pier was “successfully affixed to the beach in Gaza” with around 500 tons of aid expected to enter the Palestinian territory in the coming days
- “It’s a pretty substantial amount, and it’s spread out over multiple ships right now,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy CENTCOM commander, told reporters
JERUSALEM: US troops on Thursday anchored a long-awaited temporary pier aimed at ramping up emergency aid to a beach in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, the US military and Israel said.
The US Central Command said the pier was “successfully affixed to the beach in Gaza” with around 500 tons of aid expected to enter the Palestinian territory in the coming days.
“It’s a pretty substantial amount, and it’s spread out over multiple ships right now,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy CENTCOM commander, told reporters in Washington.
Israel’s military also said in a statement that the connection was “successfully completed.”
But Farhan Haq, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said negotiations remained ongoing on distribution of the aid — particularly on the safety of workers.
“We are finalizing our operational plans to make sure that we’re ready to handle it once the floating dock is properly functioning, while ensuring the safety of our staff,” he said.
The Gaza war has been devastating for aid workers. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which Israel accuses of bias, has alone lost 188 Gaza staff, according to UN figures.
Asked about the concerns, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the United States was working with the United Nations on practicalities but added: “From our point of view, we believe that this is ready to go and for aid to start flowing as soon as possible.”
US President Joe Biden announced the emergency pier in March to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of famine with virtually the entire population of 2.4 million displaced by the Israeli military action in response to the October 7 Hamas attack.
Built at a cost of at least $320 million, the project is extraordinary in that such massive humanitarian efforts by the United States are usually in response to actions by hostile countries, not a US ally.
The humanitarian assistance is being screened in Cyprus and loaded by truck. Once on land, it will “move quickly,” being offloaded from the coast into Gaza within hours, Cooper said, adding that “thousands of tons of aid are in the pipeline.”
He said that around 1,000 US soldiers and sailors were involved in the operation but that they would not take part in delivery, which will be led by the UN.
The war began after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s military retaliation has killed at least 35,272 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
The UN has argued that opening up land crossing points and allowing more trucks convoys into Gaza is the only way to stem the spiralling humanitarian crisis.
But the primary crossing into Gaza, on the territory’s border with Egypt, has been closed for days.
Israeli troops took over the Palestinian side of the crossing last week as the military threatened a wider assault on the southern city, defying warnings from the United States and others over the fate of some 1.4 million civilians who had been sheltering there.
“Of course we’re thankful to the US for all the work they’ve done in creating the floating dock. However, getting aid to people in need into and across Gaza cannot and should not depend on a floating dock far from where needs are most acute,” Haq said.
Cyprus, the Mediterranean island nation that is the departure point for aid on the planned maritime corridor, said US ship James A. Loux left Wednesday, carrying relief supplies and technical equipment.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said that “new departures are expected, transporting humanitarian aid including food items, medical supplies, hygiene and temporary shelter.”
Britain, meanwhile, said its initial contribution of nearly 100 tons of “shelter coverage kits” figured in the first shipment.
The pier will begin with facilitating the delivery of around 90 truckloads of international aid into Gaza each day, before volumes are scaled up to 150 truckloads daily, a British statement said.
