Benjamin Netanyahu. Credit: Crown Copyright, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Benjamin Netanyahu’s mandate to form a coalition government following Israel’s March general election expired on Tuesday night. After 28 days of negotiations, Netanyahu announced that he had failed to persuade enough other parties to join a government led by his Likud party. Netanyahu’s efforts ultimately failed when Bezalel Smotrich, leader…

Police deployment at Mount Meron. Credit: Israel Police, CC BY-SA 3.0 Israel experienced its worst ever civilian disaster last week, when a stampede at Mount Meron in the northern Galilee led to the deaths of at least 45 people. More than 100,000 people, mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews, gathered at the annual Lag B’Omer celebrations, which include visits…

Photo: Crown Copyright, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 With two weeks left to form a government, Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a major blow on Monday when his supporters lost a key vote which effectively cost them control of the Knesset. The loss increased speculation that the long-serving prime minister's days in office are numbered. What happened The anti-Netanyahu bloc secured…

Photo: Crown Copyright, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Benjamin Netanyahu met with Naftali Bennett, leader of the right-wing Yamina party, for the fourth time on Wednesday after being asked to form a government by President Reuven Rivlin last week. The Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem hosted coalition negotiations between Likud and Yamina, who have also been meeting separately. Talks between Netanyahu and…