Benjamin Netanyahu - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

Israel to tell ICC it does not recognise court’s authority

DAN WILLIAMS ISRAEL will tell the International Criminal Court it does not recognise the authority of the tribunal, which is planning to investigate possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday. Netanyahu, after meeting with senior ministers and government officials ahead of a Friday deadline to respond to an ICC notification letter, said Israel would not cooperate with the inquiry, but it will send a response. "It will be made clear that Israel is a country with rule of law that knows how to investigate itself," he said in a statement. The response will also…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

‘King Bibi’ or ‘Crime Minister’? Netanyahu’s political and legal troubles

WORLD

MAAYAN LUBELL ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was given the first crack at forming a government yesterday, even as his corruption trial moved into its second day of evidence. After a fourth inconclusive election in two years, there is no guarantee that Netanyahu will succeed in unblocking the political stalemate. Meanwhile, judges will continue to hear testimony in the first of three cases involving charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust against Israel's longest serving prime minister. CAN NETANYAHU BE ON TRIAL AND REMAIN PRIME MINISTER? Under Israeli law, a prime minister is under no obligation to stand down…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

EXPLAINER-After Israel’s tight election, who matters and what happens next?

WORLD

MAAYAN LUBELL PRIME Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's prospects for another term looked uncertain on Wednesday after partial results from Israel's fourth national election in two years projected no clear path to victory. The right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu's Likud party had a slight edge but was in a tight race with a grouping of centre, left and right-wing parties looking to unseat him. WHO ARE THE MAIN PLAYERS? NETANYAHU, 71, campaigned on Israel's world-beating COVID-19 vaccine rollout, but such is the polarisation in Israeli politics that even this could not break the stalemate. Critics accuse him of mismanaging pandemic lockdowns that…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Israel votes as Netanyahu hopes vaccine rollout overcomes corruption trial

WORLD

JEFFREY HELLER and STEPHEN FARRELL ISRAELIS began voting yesterday in a fourth election in two years, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoping a world-beating COVID-19 vaccine rollout will win him another term. With coronavirus precautions at polling booths across the country - and ballots at the airport for quarantined Israelis coming home to vote - opinion polls show the race yet again too close to call. Israel's longest-serving head of government, Netanyahu has managed to hold on to power through two years of inconclusive elections despite facing corruption allegations. He is now on trial on bribery and abuse of power…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Netanyahu pleads not guilty to corruption as trial resumes

WORLD

JEFFREY HELLER ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded not guilty to corruption charges at the resumption of his trial, six weeks before voters again head to the polls to pass judgment on his leadership. "I confirm the written answer submitted in my name," Netanyahu said, standing before the three-judge panel in the heavily guarded Jerusalem District Court. He was referring to a document his lawyers gave the court last month in which they argued that Netanyahu, 71, was not guilty of charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud. Wearing a coronavirus mask, Netanyahu, the first serving Israeli leader to…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Netanyahu expects ties visit by Morocco to Israel next week

NEWS

A delegation from Morocco will travel to Israel in the coming week to advance newly-normalized relations, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu on Friday spoke with Morocco's King Mohammed VI and invited him to visit. An Israeli delegation travelled to Morocco on Tuesday and the countries plan to reopen mutual liaison offices and to launch direct commercial flights. "We agreed that the Moroccan delegation will come here at the start of the week in order to advance it all," Netanyahu said in a video he posted on Twitter, in which he described his conversation with the king. A…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Israeli envoys will travel to Sudan for normalisation deal, Netanyahu says

NEWS

AN Israeli delegation will travel to Sudan in coming days after the two countries agreed to take steps to normalise ties, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced. The agreement, brokered with the help of the United States and announced on Friday, made Sudan the third Arab government to set aside hostilities with Israel in the last two months. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "An Israeli delegation will leave to Sudan in the coming days to complete the agreement," Netanyahu said at a news conference. It was unclear, however, how long it will take for an accord to be completed. The military…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Israel hails ‘new era’ with Sudan but Palestinians lament ‘new stab in the back’

WORLD

ISRAEL has hailed a new era in its relations with the Arab world after the announcement of plans to normalize ties with Sudan, an agreement the Palestinians described as a "new stab in the back". "This is a new era. An era of true peace. A peace that is expanding with other Arab countries - three of them in recent weeks," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement. Israel reached normalization agreements last month with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. "In Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, the three principles of the Arab League were adopted in…