Benjamin Netanyahu - The African Mirror

Feb

2023

Israel’s Netanyahu pledges more action against Palestinian attackers

PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a stronger Israeli response in dealing with a spate of Palestinian attacks in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, as pressure swelled within his right-wing government to employ more severe tactics. His remarks came two days after a car-ramming attack in the Jerusalem outskirts killed three Israelis and two weeks after a lone Palestinian gunman killed seven people outside a synagogue, adding to rising anxiety in Israel over security. Tensions are also high in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have carried out hundreds of arrests in recent months during near-daily raids that have seen…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Tens of thousands of Israelis protest against justice reform plans

WORLD

TENS of thousands of Israelis braved heavy rain for a fifth week of protests against judicial reform plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government that critics say threaten democratic checks on ministers by the courts. The plans, which the government says are needed to curb overreach by judges, have drawn fierce opposition from groups including lawyers, and raised concerns among business leaders, widening already deep political divisions in Israeli society. "I'm here tonight protesting against the transition of Israel from a democracy to an autocracy," Dov Levenglick, 48, a software engineer told Reuters in Tel Aviv. "It's a disgrace,…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Explainer: Can Netanyahu regain Israel’s premiership?

WORLD

ISRAEL called a November election after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stepped aside and parliament was dissolved, while former premier Benjamin Netanyahu promised he would return to power. Here is a quick look at why Israel is holding yet another election and what the chances are of a Netanyahu comeback: HOW DID WE GET HERE ... AGAIN? Bennett and his partner Yair Lapid, who at midnight will assume the role of caretaker prime minister, took power last June, ending the record 12-year tenure of Netanyahu along with almost three years of political stalemate. Bennett and Lapid wrangled up a broad range…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

New Israeli government faces tension with Palestinians over Jerusalem

WORLD

JEFFREY HELLER VETERAN leader Benjamin Netanyahu handed over power in Israel yesterday to new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett but remained defiant as the patchwork government faced tensions with Palestinians over a planned Jewish nationalist march. Minutes after meeting Bennett, Netanyahu repeated a pledge to topple the new government approved on Sunday by a 60-59 vote in parliament. "It will happen sooner than you think," Netanyahu, 71, who spent a record 12 straight years in office, said in public remarks to legislators of his right-wing Likud party. Formation of the alliance of right-wing, centrist, left-wing and Arab parties, with little in…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Netanyahu out, Bennett in as Israel marks end of an era

WORLD

JEFFREYHELLER and MAAYAN LUBELL BENJAMIN Netanyahu's record 12-year run as Israel's prime minister ended on Sunday with parliament approving a new "government of change" led by nationalist Naftali Bennett, an improbable scenario few Israelis could have imagined. But the razor-thin 60-59 vote of confidence in a coalition of left-wing, centrist, right-wing and Arab parties with little in common except for a desire to unseat Netanyahu, only underscored its likely fragility. Addressing parliament before Bennett was sworn in, a combative Netanyahu said: "If we are destined to go into the opposition, we will do so with our heads held high until…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Netanyahu, battling for political life, attacks deal to unseat him

WORLD

JEFFREY HELLER ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fought back against an agreement by his political opponents for a government of left-wing, centrist and right-wing parties aimed at unseating him. Netanyahu, facing the prospect of an end to his 12-year run as premier, said on Twitter "all legislators elected by votes from the right must oppose this dangerous left-wing government", and he targeted historic Arab participation in the coalition. The right-wing leader mounted the social media attack the day after centrist politician Yair Lapid's announcement, about 35 minutes before a Wednesday night deadline, that he had succeeded in forming a…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Israel’s ‘magician’ Netanyahu faces final curtain after record run

WORLD

JEFFREY HELLER LONG the familiar face of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has held on as prime minister for more than a decade, clinging to power through a criminal indictment and four elections in the past two years alone. Now, the question is whether the 71-year-old Netanyahu, dubbed "the magician" by his admirers, has any cards left up his sleeve. After years in which he exerted near-complete hegemony over Israeli politics, an emerging broad coalition of opponents could be about to unseat him. "Fraud of the century," an indignant Netanyahu declared on Sunday, after fellow right-winger Naftali Bennett turned against him and…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Netanyahu’s grip on power loosens as rival moves to unseat him

WORLD

JEFFERY HELLER FAR-right party leader Naftali Bennett threw his crucial support on Sunday behind a "unity government" in Israel to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what would be the end of a political era. Bennett's decision, which he announced in a televised address, could enable opposition chief Yair Lapid to put together a coalition of right-wing, centrist and leftist parties and hand Netanyahu his first election defeat since 1999. Lapid, head of the centrist Yesh Atid party that finished second to Netanyahu's right-wing Likud in an inconclusive March 23 national ballot, faces a Wednesday deadline from Israel's president to…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Netanyahu vows to fight on as Biden urges Gaza ‘de-escalation’

WORLD

NIDAL al-MUGHRABI, JEFFREY HELLER and ANDREA SHALAL ISRAEL Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting against Gaza militants after U.S. President Joe Biden urged him to seek a "de-escalation" yesterday in the 10-day conflict on the path to a ceasefire. An Egyptian security source said the two sides had agreed in principle to a ceasefire after help from mediators, although details were still being negotiated in secret amid public denials of a deal to prevent it from collapsing. Palestinian health officials said that since fighting began on May 10, 227 people had been killed in aerial bombardments that have…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Gaza conflict intensifies with rocket barrages and air strikes

WORLD

NIDAL al-MUGHRABI and RAMI AYYUB PALESTINIAN militants fired more rockets into Israel's commercial heartland yesterday as Israel kept up a punishing bombing campaign in Gaza and massed tanks and troops on the enclave's border. The four days of cross-border violence showed no sign of abating and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign "will take more time". The violence has also spread to mixed communities of Jews and Arabs in Israel, a new front in the long conflict. Synagogues were attacked and fighting broke out on the streets of some communities, prompting Israel's president to warn of the danger…