Israeli politics
With new players and old alliances, Israel’s post-October 7 political map takes shape
POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Two significant political developments played out this week as Israel moves towards elections. Gadi Eisenkot and Yonatan Shamriz took the reflectors with key announcements.
Gov’t faces one-week deadline to pass first reading of state budget amid haredi draft bill threats
Dangerous game: Netanyahu risks Israel’s security to save coalition with draft deal - editorial
Bill on prosecuting October 7 Nukhba terrorists passes first Knesset reading
Knesset legal advisor demands Finance Ministry probe into unauthorized fund transfers
The demand was made following a High Court of Justice hearing on petitions challenging the government’s transfer of more than NIS 1 billion in earmarked funds to haredi schools.
Ayelet Shaked calls for state probe into October 7, will decide on political comeback 'soon'
Shaked also said she was proud of diversifying the judicial bench during her tenure, arguing that a heterogeneous court better reflects Israeli society.
Knesset advances bill to try October 7 Nukhba terrorists in special military court
The bill also proposes establishing a ministerial steering committee tasked with coordinating government preparations and prosecution policy for October 7 cases.
The Knesset’s decline reflects Israel’s broader political crisis - opinion
The deterioration of the Knesset is evidence of the deterioration of Israel’s liberal democratic system as a whole. Hopefully, after the next Knesset elections, this process will be reversed.
PMO workers involved in Qatargate 'must sit behind bars,' Smotrich says
Smotrich charged that Qatar is a state sponsor of terror, adding that Doha must be condemned for its "responsibility for what happened on October 7."
Connecting the dots: The deep state is not hidden, it runs Israel - opinion
As part of Israel’s legal system and political structure, they are essential to the way the government works. The challenge, however, is to understand how decisions are made and by whom.
'Worst treason in Israel's history': Bennett, Netanyahu trade barbs over Qatargate
Bennett stated that while he would not claim Netanyahu ordered his advisers to act on behalf of Qatar, he should have "been the first to cry out and take action" when the affair was revealed.
Former PM Bennett calls Qatargate treasonous, calls on Netanyahu to resign
Yair Lapid, who also briefly served in the role, called it the "most serious treason case in the history of the State.”
The inquiry into October 7 can either help heal or deepen Israel’s divide - analysis
If properly constituted, the probe can help Israel understand how a catastrophe of this scale was allowed to happen, and how to ensure it does not happen again.
Israeli gov't approves Army Radio shutdown, commander vows to fight closure
Army Radio commander Tal Lev-Ram has said that he would fight the closure, which Defense Minister Israel Katz has pushed for, before the High Court of Justice.
