Latest news with #NaftaliBennett
Middle East Eye
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Former Israeli prime minister urges Gaza withdrawal for captive deal
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has called for a full withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for the release of all captives held by Hamas. Speaking to Channel 12, Bennett proposed what he described as a 'comprehensive deal' to break what he called a 'terrible stagnation.' 'In light of the terrible stagnation, I suggest we go for a comprehensive deal: releasing all the hostages and deploying the IDF on the Gaza Strip perimeter,' he said, in a report carried by the Israeli daily Haaretz. Bennett also argued that the task of dismantling Hamas should be left to Israel's next leadership. 'Netanyahu must step down. Twenty years in power is unhealthy... The people want quiet, they want a government that runs the country,' he added.
The National
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Netanyahu's party gets small popularity boost after Iran war, poll shows
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's Likud party gained a small increase in popularity after the country's 12-day war with Iran, although his far-right coalition remains a long way from being able to win a majority. Likud was forecast to get 26 seats, a small climb that would largely come at the expense of parties already in his coalition. This is a worrying prospect for the Prime Minister, whose popularity has fallen since the October 7 attacks and who has struggled to make political alliances with parties other than those on the most extreme right and religious wings of Israeli politics since his continuing corruption trial began. Sources close to Mr Netanyahu told Israeli network Channel 12, which carried out the poll after Tuesday's ceasefire, that he was disappointed with the numbers. Unlike the Gaza War, the campaign against Iran enjoyed overwhelming support among Jewish Israelis. The coalition was forecast to get 49 seats, well below the number needed to get a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Mr Netanyahu won the last election, in late 2022, with a coalition of 64 seats. According to the numbers, Mr Netanyahu is tailed closely by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, with 24 seats. Thirty-eight per cent of respondents said they would prefer Mr Netanyahu as prime minister, with Mr Bennet getting 35 per cent. Left-wing party The Democrats come in third with 12 seats. The poll put the total number of seats won by opposition parties at 61, excluding parties that represent Palestinian citizens of Israel. They do not usually join governing coalitions, although some did in the previous government. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, one of the most extreme members of the current coalition, would not win sufficient votes to enter the next parliament, although similarly extreme National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party would win six seats. Elections are due to be held in October 2026. Channel 12's report suggested Mr Netanyahu's disappointment at the numbers could stop him from trying to call an early election, after he appeared to hint he might do so during a press conference on Sunday. Israeli outlet Haaretz reported on Wednesday that Mr Netanyahu is not seeking an early election, at least not before an end to the Gaza War and the return of hostages held in the strip. He also wants 'the Saudi channel, with normalisation and trade agreements with it and other countries such as Indonesia', a source, described as a close adviser, told the paper. 'After this achievement, it is reasonable to assume he will choose to move up the election,' the source said. Mr Netanyahu has long touted normalisation with Saudi Arabia, as well as other Muslim states, as a key foreign policy goal.
The National
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Israeli politicians laud US strikes on Iran
Israeli politicians across the ideological spectrum have welcomed US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, with only a minority of left-wingers warning that an open-ended war could have devastating consequences for the Middle East. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, widely viewed as one of the strongest challengers to current leader Benjamin Netanyahu in the next elections, described the strikes as 'a historic action that crushes the nuclear head of the Iranian octopus'. 'The President of the United States, Donald Trump, displayed the might of the United States in the face of evil and his uncompromising leadership against the danger to the entire world,' Mr Bennet said in a post on X. The praise of politicians such as Mr Bennet reveal quite how single-minded most Israeli politicians are in the campaign against Iran and how the strikes have, for now, secured Mr Netanyahu's political future, despite him being in the midst of political and legal crises before the war with Iran began. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who at one point nearly quit Mr Netanyahu's government over a Gaza ceasefire deal, wrote on X: 'God Bless President Trump. God Bless America. God Bless the United States Army. God Bless the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.' Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel's opposition and one of Mr Netanyahu's highest-profile critics, said: 'Thank you President Trump for your historic decision. Israel, the Middle East and the world are now safer.' Democrats leader Yair Golan, who heads arguably the most dynamic party on Israel's beleaguered and dwindling left, described the US strikes as 'impressive, important and justified'. He continued with a call for peace: 'And as President Trump wrote: Now is the time for peace. For a comprehensive agreement, for the release of the hostages, for an end to the war, for regional normalisation, for real security for the citizens of Israel.' 'And for the citizens of Israel - complex days lie ahead." Far-left criticism Politician Ofer Cassif, on the far left, criticised the US attack, saying it worsens an 'already harsh reality'. 'The attack on Iran will, in the not-so-distant future, be revealed, as happened with Iraq in 2003, as a deception serving those in power, paid for by the peoples – in Israel, in Palestine, in Iran, and throughout the region,' he said. Many politicians called on the Israeli public to stick to civilian rules issued by the military and to seek shelter during Iranian barrages. Israel further tightened the rules after the American strikes. Sarit Zehavi of the Alma Research and Education Centre, an Israeli think tank, said Iran's missiles were 'very different' to those fired by groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah in other conflicts. 'Hezbollah rockets would destroy a room or a home. Iran missiles [mean] a street destroyed,' she said. 'The missiles of Iran appear to be very accurate. What is happening now is that you have 30 missiles in a barrage you need to intercept,' said Ms Zehavi, which differs from previous barrages when many less accurate rounds would hit open areas. She added that the current rate of Iran's fire 'can still continue for at least a month, in a worst-case scenario'.
Irish Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Netanyahu's ruling party gets popularity boost in wake of Iran conflict
The popularity of prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu 's Likud party has improved since Israel began its conflict with Iran last week. A poll published on Friday by the Ma'ariv newspaper found that if an election were to be held, Mr Netanyahu's ruling Likud party would register 27 seats in the Israeli Knesset, up from 24 in a similar poll last week. This is the party's highest showing since the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7th 2023. Likud holds 32 seats in the current parliament . Yisrael Beiteinu, a rival right-wing party headed by former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, is the second most popular party with 19 seats. The poll predicts the right-wing and religious parties that make up Mr Netanyahu's coalition would fail to clinch a majority, winning 51 of the 120 seats in the Knesset parliament. READ MORE However, in the event that former prime minister Naftali Bennett runs as the head of a new right-wing party in the next election – which must be held by October 2026 – the poll shows Likud dropping to 24 seats, one more than Mr Bennett's party. Under such a scenario, the current coalition parties would drop to 46 members in the next Knesset. [ Israel-Iran war: Gulf states scramble to secure diplomatic solution Opens in new window ] A small majority for the opposition parties at the next election might not be so bad for Mr Netanyahu. Most of the mainstream Zionist parties have indicated that they will not sit in a future coalition with two Arab parties, which together consistently poll 10 seats. If no bloc formed a working majority, Mr Netanyahu would continue as transitional prime minister. Friday's poll also showed that 46 per cent of Israelis believe that removing the threat of nuclear weapons and/or ballistic missiles should be the main aim of the week-old war against Iran. Some 43 per cent cited regime change. Other polls indicate that 77-83 per cent of Israelis support the war against Iran.
Channel 4
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Channel 4
‘World would be happy if Iranian regime fell'
We were joined from central Israel by the former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett. He's previously been in coalition with Benjamin Netanyahu, but was seen by Israelis as more suitable for the role of prime minister in a recent poll.
