Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer

LFI chair welcomes Israeli-Palestinian COVID-19 cooperation

Speaking in Foreign Office questions, LFI chair Steve McCabe welcomed Israeli-Palestinian cooperation to tackle COVID-19. "I thank the Minister for his comments. Will he join me in welcoming the news that Israel has approved a $230 million advance payment to the Palestinian Authority, alongside coronavirus test kits, intensive care beds, ventilators, drugs and protective equipment? Is…

Analysis: Israel announces big coronavirus unlock amid positive international comparisons

CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Nearly two months after it commenced a stringent lockdown, Israel appears to be turning a corner in the fight against the coronavirus. The number of new cases over 24-hour periods has consistently been below 200 since the start of last week. On Sunday night, Israel…

Analysis: Annexation, the opposition

Image: Kryptozh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons The release of Donald Trump’s much-delayed Middle East peace plan in January was a nakedly political bid to boost Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances of re-election. After the conclusion of a “unity government” agreement last week, Netanyahu is guaranteed at least another 18 months as Israel’s prime minister. In that period, he appears…

Analysis: Israel rocked by constitutional crisis

Photo: James Emery, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Israel is engulfed in a constitutional crisis following an effort by the speaker of the Knesset to effectively shutter the country’s parliament and prevent a vote on his replacement. Yuli Edelstein, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, has defied a ruling by the Supreme Court which ordered…

Analysis: Gantz gets first shot at becoming PM

ראובן קפוצ'ינסקי, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Opposition leader Benny Gantz was officially charged yesterday with the task of forming Israel’s next government after a roller-coaster weekend of political manoeuvring. It came against the backdrop of the country in a virtual lockdown as dramatic measures to counter the coronavirus were taken by Benjamin Netanyahu’s caretaker…

Analysis: Gantz moves to oust Netanyahu

ראובן קפוצ'ינסקי, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Israel’s opposition leader, Benny Gantz, has seized the political initiative and is attempting to form a minority government within two weeks to oust Benjamin Netanyahu from power and end the country’s year-long political stalemate. The former IDF chief’s move follows a dramatic week in the wake of last Monday’s inconclusive general…

Analysis: Netanyahu stages a comeback – but will it be enough?

Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have pulled off a spectacular comeback in Israel’s general election, but one that has seemingly left his right-wing and ultra-Orthodox bloc still short of a majority in the Knesset. The results of the election – the third since last April – aimed to break the…

Analysis: Israelis prepare for new elections – and another stalemate?

Image: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Voters in Israel go to the polls in two week’s time – for an unprecedented third time in less than one year, with many fearing that continued stalemate may even lead to further elections. The general elections held in April and September last year saw both Benjamin Netanyahu and…

Analysis: Trump plan’s threat to Arab Israelis

Photo: Moataz1997, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Among the many flaws of Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” – although one which has received little intentional attention – was its seeming proposal that thousands of Arab Israelis should be effectively stripped of their citizenship and transferred to a future Palestinian state. The US plan proposes that…

Analysis: Trump’s plan: Palestinians say “No” as Bibi fails to reap political windfall

Image: US Government, Public Domain, via Wikipedia Commons The release of the US Middle East plan last week was a nakedly political event. As his impeachment trial in the US Senate continued, Donald Trump attempted to bolster his support among pro-Israel evangelical Christians at home, while throwing an electoral lifeline to Benjamin Netanyahu. Indeed, the Israeli prime…