AG said set to tell High Court Deri’s appointment as minister should be nixed

Report: AG to let Netanyahu be represented by private lawyer in Deri High Court case

Along with telling the High Court of Justice that she opposes Aryeh Deri’s appointment as minister due to his three previous convictions, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara will allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to appoint a private lawyer to represent the premier in court, the Ynet news site reports.

It is a rare step, with the state’s stances usually communicated to the court solely via the attorney general, which also serves as legal adviser to the government.

The report says that in Thursday’s hearing, Netanyahu’s stance will be represented by attorney Michael Rabilo, who also represented him two years ago in petitions against his appointment as prime minister, despite the ongoing corruption trial against the premier.

Deri plans to condition immigrant passports on proof of settling permanently in Israel

Illustrative. An Israeli passport. (Flash90)

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announces that he intends to change a law to make it harder for immigrants to get Israeli passports, following what he describes as exploitation of the current legal situation.

According to the plan, anyone making aliyah will have to prove that they have established a permanent residence in Israel as a precondition to receiving a passport — the same legal requirement that was in place until 2017.

Deri says that, since then, immigrants have received passports and benefits only to immediately leave the country.

A statement by Deri’s office says that he has instructed the Population and Immigration Authority to advance a law change to this effect. It is not clear how or when the legislation will be promoted in the Knesset.

Lapid formally becomes opposition leader

Yair Lapid speaks in the Knesset plenum on January 2, 2023. (Knesset spokesperson)

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana informs the plenum that Yesh Atid, the biggest faction among those not included in the coalition, has selected party leader Yair Lapid as opposition leader.

This notification of the plenum means that the title is now official, and Lapid is now formally the opposition leader.

New communications minister, Haredi parties reach deal to nix ‘kosher’ phone reform

A man holds up his cellular phone certificating that it is 'kosher' at the entrance to an ultra-Orthodox school in Jerusalem on May 6, 2020. (Nati Shohat/ Flash90)

New Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi (Likud) reaches understandings with the Haredi parties to cancel the previous government’s kosher phones reform, with the leaders hailing the cooperation, as opposed to previous minister Yoaz Hendel’s attempt to “force a change of lifestyle on an entire community.”

Many in the ultra-Orthodox community use so-called “kosher” phones, stripped of features such as internet and messaging apps, in the attempt to avoid content deemed inappropriate. These phones all have numbers with a distinct beginning, so that examining the phone number can determine whether the person has a kosher phone.

Hendel’s program would enable holders of kosher phones to switch to a regular mobile phone, without changing their phone numbers, allowing those interested in having smartphones to use them, and weakening the tight intra-community regulation on the matter.

The coalition deals signed last week included a pledge to nix the phasing out of old 2G and 3G cellular networks in Israel, due to the kosher phones’ reliance on those networks.

A compromise has been reached on that front, in which the phasing out will happen, but with a delay of six months — through the end of 2025 — to allow for the preparation of kosher phones with 4G reception.

Netanyahu’s office confirms preparations for ‘significant’ UAE visit

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirms previous reports of a visit to the United Arab Emirates being planned for the near future.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office says it is in contact with Abu Dhabi regarding “logistic preparations for a significant official visit by Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

Gamliel, Porush approved by Knesset as ministers, bringing cabinet to 31 members

Then-environmental protection minister Gila Gamliel at the annual Jerusalem Conference of the 'Besheva' group in Jerusalem, on March 15, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The appointment of two new ministers is approved by the Knesset, bringing the new government’s total to 31 ministers.

Likud’s Gila Gamliel is okayed as intelligence minister, while UTJ’s Meir Porush will become Jerusalem, tradition and Mount Meron minister.

Gamliel has been sworn in, while Porush will be sworn in later.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swore his government in on Thursday, bringing together five far-right and ultra-Orthodox partners, along with his right-wing Likud party.

United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush arrives for coalition talks at the Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv on November 10, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Former deputy IDF chief Eyal Zamir picked as Defense Ministry director-general

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen with outgoing military secretary to the prime minister, Major General Eyal Zamir, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on September 8, 2015. (Haim Zach / GPO)

New Defense Minister Yoav Gallant appoints former deputy chief of the military, Eyal Zamir, to be the director-general of the ministry.

Zamir, 57, will enter the role in the coming weeks, replacing Amir Eshel.

The retired major general was twice among the candidates to lead the Israel Defense Forces. But ultimately, the front-running candidates were selected instead.

Zamir most recently served as IDF deputy chief of staff. In 2018, he served as commander of the Southern Command, overseeing violent clashes along the Gaza border amid protests organized by the Hamas terror group.

Between 2012 and 2015, Zamir was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military secretary.

“Zamir is one of the best commanders to emerge in the IDF in the last generation, his track record of service is impressive and he excelled in all his positions,” Gallant, also a former general, says in remarks published by his office.

Zamir thanks Gallant for tapping him for the role, saying: “We will work in cooperation to strengthen the power of the IDF, the defense organizations, industry, and Israeli society.”

Reports say AG will tell High Court she opposes Deri’s appointment as minister

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara (left) in Tel Aviv, July 5, 2022 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90) and Shas head Aryeh Deri in Jerusalem, September 12, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Multiple reports say that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has decided to oppose the appointment of Shas party chief Aryeh Deri as a minister in the new government.

Ahead of a Thursday hearing by an expanded panel of 11 High Court justices on petitions against Deri’s appointment as health and interior minister, Baharav-Miara will reportedly submit a legal opinion saying the nomination is unreasonable for someone who has been convicted three times in the past, including last year.

If the court ends up accepting that opinion, Netanyahu will be forced to fire Deri from his cabinet posts.

However, the reports by Globes and Ynet add that Baharav-Miara will defend the new government’s recently passed legislation that enabled Deri’s appointment — a law change clarifying that those who have received suspended sentences in the previous seven years — unlike those who received custodial jail sentences — can become ministers.

High Court issues injunction on Homesh, demands state explain why it won’t demolish outpost

The High Court of Justice convenes in Jerusalem to discuss the potential evacuation of the West Bank outpost of Homesh, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In a rebuke to the new government, the High Court of Justice demands the state explain why the illegal Homesh outpost should not be evacuated, after the government announced earlier today that it intends to legalize the settlement.

The court issues an injunction against the government, requiring the state to submit its explanation within 90 days, following a hearing on a petition by the left-wing Yesh Din organization seeking the evacuation of the site on behalf of the Palestinians who own the land on which Homesh is situated.

The court also demands the state explain why it should not take the necessary steps to grant the Palestinian landowners regular access to their land, something they have been systematically denied due to restrictions imposed by the IDF.

Yesh Din welcomes the injunction and argues that the government’s intention to repeal part of the 2005 Disengagement Law “would not change the fact that this is private Palestinian land.”

Representatives of Homesh demand in response that the government enact the necessary legislation to legalize Homesh, saying that “this would be the answer to the High Court’s wild behavior.”

25th Knesset’s first 2 no-confidence motions struck down by lawmakers

The opposition’s first two no-confidence motions against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government are defeated in the Knesset.

A motion filed by Yesh Atid is defeated 61 to 50, and a second motion brought by the National Unity party also fails 61 to 50.

Although generally symbolic in nature, a successful no-confidence motion would swap the current government with a new one. No-confidence motions garnered an unusual level of attention in the past Knesset, once the last coalition lost its 61-strong majority. Ultimately, the last government decided to dismantle itself.

In call with new FM Cohen, Blinken notes US opposition to moves imperiling 2-state solution

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen speaks with his US counterpart Antony Blinken shortly after the new minister’s inaugural address to Israel’s diplomats. According to Cohen, the two speak about expanding the Abraham Accords to include new countries, and on cooperation to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon.

Cohen says he told Blinken that Israel-US ties are the government’s top priority.

The US readout adds that Blinken stressed the continued commitment by US President Joe Biden’s administration to a two-state solution and its opposition to Israeli policies that endanger its viability.

Blinken congratulates Cohen and stresses America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security, according to the Israeli readout.

Israel’s top diplomat explains his approach to the Palestinian issues, and emphasizes how serious the Palestinian effort to bring the conflict to the International Court of Justice is. Cohen also thanks the US for its support on the ICJ vote.

שוחחתי כעת עם מזכיר המדינה האמריקאי אנטוני בלינקן.
דנו בין היתר על החשיבות של הסכמי אברהם והרחבתם, וכן על הפעילות המשותפת למניעת נשק גרעיני מאיראן.

אמרתי לו שהיחסים האסטרטגיים עם ארה"ב עומדים בראש סדר העדיפויות שלנו ואנו נמשיך לחזק את הקשר המיוחד בין המדינות ????????????????@SecBlinken pic.twitter.com/eUyXGMdeTl

— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) January 2, 2023

Filing 1st no-confidence motion against government, Lapid says Israel’s democracy in doubt

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks during a Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Presenting the first no-confidence motion against the new government, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says there is doubt about Israel’s continued existence as a democratic state.

“In the 75 years of modern Israel’s existence, there has never been any doubt as to whether it will be a democratic state. Now there is,” Lapid says. “In the 21st century, democracies do not fall, they erode. Bit by bit, then by a lot and quickly. We are in the by a lot and quickly stage.”

“The only thing that will stop it is if there is resistance. I do not call for breaking the law, but that does not mean that we should automatically obey a government that dismantles the foundations of our common life,” Lapid adds.

Not expected to pass, the motion has become a tradition of sorts, posed periodically by oppositions against ruling governments.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government partners sworn in Thursday have promised a number of policy changes, including expanding political control over Israel’s police, handing over the Defense Ministry’s sensitive settlement policy to a far-right advocate of annexing the West Bank, weakening anti-discrimination laws, and weakening the Supreme Court.

Netanyahu’s new National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has particularly drawn Lapid’s ire. An ultranationalist activist and former longtime acolyte of banned racist politician Meir Kahane, Ben Gvir secured expanded powers over the police and has been promised more control over the Border Police.

“In what world is the solution to violence a violent offender who has been indicted 53 times and convicted eight times? His only experience in police matters is that he has been detained countless times,” Lapid says.

Leaders of top Zionist bodies warn Netanyahu against altering Law of Return

Jewish immigrants fleeing the war in Ukraine arrive at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on March 6, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)

The heads of top international Zionist groups send a joint letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning him against his incoming government’s plan to alter the Law of Return to restrict immigration to Israel by descendants of Jews who are not themselves Jewish.

“It is our duty to share with you our deep concern regarding voices in the government on issues that could undermine the long-standing status quo on religious affairs that could affect the Diaspora. Any change in the delicate and sensitive status quo on issues such as the Law of Return or conversion could threaten to unravel the ties between us and keep us away from each other,” the Jewish leaders write.

The letter is signed by the heads of the Jewish Agency, the Jewish Federations of North America, Keren Hayesod, and the World Zionist Organization.

Ben Gvir said to postpone planned Temple Mount visit after sitting down with Netanyahu

Likud leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu with Otzma Yehudit party head Itamar Ben Gvir at a vote in the assembly hall of the Knesset on December 28, 2022. (courtesy, Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly speaks with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir about the latter’s intention to visit the flashpoint Temple Mount holy site, which could draw violent reactions from Palestinians.

The Ynet news site says Ben Gvir has subsequently said he won’t make the visit in the coming weeks, but told Netanyahu “we mustn’t cave to Hamas” after the terror group issued threats over the matter.

The Walla news site quotes Ben Gvir associates saying he is still determined to make the visit soon, adding that Netanyahu didn’t ask him to nix the plan entirely.

Deri: Netanyahu ‘tricked’ me by making Ohana speaker; an ex-Shas MK says gay MK should marry a woman

Interior and Health Minister Aryeh Deri at a ceremony of the incoming minister of Social Affairs Yaacov Margi (not seen), at the Social Affairs Ministry in Jerusalem on January 1, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

Shas party leader Aryeh Deri reportedly accuses Prime Minister Netanyahu of “tricking” him with a surprise appointment of Likud MK Amir Ohana as Knesset speaker, the first LGBTQ person to hold the role, which put ultra-Orthodox lawmakers in an unexpected dilemma regarding how to handle Ohana’s speech, in which he played up the issue.

The Kikar Hashabbat Haredi news site quotes Deri telling MKs in a closed meeting: “Netanyahu tricked me with the appointment of Amir Ohana, we thought it would be [Likud MKs] Yoav Kisch or David Amsalem.”

Deri also implies that the Haredi lawmakers should have treated Ohana’s speech with more disdain than they did.

“We erred in our conduct in the plenum,.I headed out immediately after the speech, I can’t understand the Haredi MKs who went to hug him after that address.”

However, Deri himself hugged Ohana earlier in the ceremony, after the latter had become Knesset speaker.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana embraces Interior and Health Minister Aryeh Deri at the swearing-in ceremony of Israel’s 37th government, at the Knesset in Jerusalem on December 29, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Meanwhile, former Shas MK Nissim Zeev has slammed the decision to appoint Ohana, suggesting that rather than resigning, the gay Knesset speaker should “form a kosher family and marry a woman.”

“In what country in the world is there a gay [parliament] speaker?” Zeev told Radio 103FM. “There is no hate here, but there is a deviation from the path of the Torah. This must be protested.

“Amir Ohana can serve in any role, but not as Knesset speaker — sensitivity should be shown,” he added. “He is definitely a respected person, but he isn’t a role model.”

Shas MK Nissim Zeev in 2012. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Smotrich says government starting ‘on the right foot’ by pledging to legalize Homesh

Religious Zionism party head Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a longtime advocate for Jewish sovereignty in the West Bank, says the new government has started its term “on the right foot” by announcing that it will act to legalize the contentious Homesh settlement outpost.

“These are changes in direction from the government’s position toward settlement in Homesh, and in fact a start on the government’s right foot when it comes to settlement in the Land of Israel,” Smotrich says before his Religious Zionism party’s Knesset faction meeting.

Earlier today, the state reversed the previous coalition’s position on how to handle the West Bank’s Homesh yeshiva, which has been repeatedly built and destroyed following the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank, which prohibited Jewish entry into the destroyed settlement.

Along with Smotrich, who is also an independent minister in the Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Justice Minister Yariv Levin took part in formulating the government’s new position, which is that the Homesh yeshiva will be legalized rather than evacuated. This position was presented to the High Court of Justice this morning.

Bank of Israel lifts key interest rate for 7th straight time to 3.75%, highest since 2008

Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron speaks at a conference in Tel Aviv, on November 29, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The Bank of Israel increases the benchmark interest rate for the seventh straight meeting, raising its key lending rate by half a percentage point to 3.75%, the highest level since 2008, as the central bank steps up efforts to tame rising inflation in recent months.

The Bank of Israel’s monetary committee decides to lift the benchmark rate to 3.75% from 3.25%, in line with most economists’ forecasts. Since policymakers started to raise borrowing costs in April from an all-time low of 0.1%, the key lending rate has increased by more than 3.5 percentage points in eight months as the Bank of Israel seeks to bring inflation back into the government’s 1% to 3% target range. Meanwhile, inflation has accelerated to 5.3% as of November over the preceding 12 months, led by spiraling housing and food costs.

The Bank of Israel cites strong economic activity, a tight labor market and the rising inflation environment as the main reasons for lifting the key lending rate. In its statement, the central bank notes that housing prices have increased at a significantly higher rate in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the number of construction starts and permits remains higher than in the past, and the number of home purchase transactions and the volume of mortgages taken out continues to decline, the Bank of Israel says.

Satellite images show damage to Damascus airport runways by alleged Israeli strike

Newly released satellite imagery shows damage to the runways at Syria’s Damascus International Airport following an airstrike attributed to Israel early this morning.

Syria’s state-run news agency SANA has said two Syrian soldiers were killed in the airstrikes targeting the airport.

According to an official notice sent by Syrian aviation authorities, one runway at Damascus airport remains unusable, while the second has been shortened by 500 meters as a result of the strike — preventing large planes from landing.

The new imagery shows that one runway appears to have been struck multiple times, while the other was targeted with a single missile.

Generally, relatively large weapons are thought to be smuggled via Syria on Iranian cargo airlines, which frequently land at the Damascus airport.

both runways at Damascus International Airport appear damaged by the Israeli airstrike last night on the latest Sentinel-2 satellite image https://t.co/PQKM2nDojt pic.twitter.com/F1VXw5nR4T

— Samir (@obretix) January 2, 2023

Netanyahu urges Likud patience on appointments, slams previous government’s ‘failures’

Incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents his new government to the Knesset in Jerusalem on December 29, 2022 (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

Kicking off his first faction meeting after returning to the prime minister’s seat, Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu asks lawmakers for patience regarding unresolved issues of certain appointments, saying that finalizing the party’s internal distribution of roles will take a few more days.

He also launches a scathing attack on the previous government, claiming that he has discovered a “series of failures and neglect in a range of fields,” including alleged inaction on the rising cost of living and on Palestinian diplomatic efforts in the UN.

He also says his new government is subjected to “a coordinated and well-oiled attack,” urging Likud MKs to “contribute to the struggle against this incitement and return fire.”

Gantz: ‘I don’t want to win the civil war Netanyahu is trying to ignite, I want to prevent it’

National Unity party leader Benny Gantz speaks during a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Unity party leader Benny Gantz criticizes both the new government and some of his partners in the new opposition at the outset of his first faction meeting after the formation of Netanyahu’s coalition last week.

Accusing the government of promoting extreme and inflammatory policies and moves with the aim of extricating Netanyahu from his ongoing corruption trial, Gantz says other members of the opposition are only serving the premier by making “unstately” moves such as forgoing formal handover events.

“My friends and I intend to take part in any opposition parliamentary initiative that would topple this dangerous government,” he says. “But dignified behavior is the basis for being able to voice criticism of the government that will be widely accepted. Being vengeful isn’t only immoral — it is ineffective.

“I don’t want to win the civil war Netanyahu is trying to ignite — I want to prevent it. I don’t want to give power to extremists, I want to present an alternative,” he says.

New culture minister Zohar vows to withdraw funding for artworks that ‘defame Israel’

New Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar at a handover ceremony with outgoing minister Chili Tropper in the background, at the ministry offices in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

At a handover ceremony alongside his predecessor Chili Tropper, new Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) vows not to provide state funding for artworks that “defame the State of Israel in the country and around the world.”

Zohar adds: “We will make sure to withdraw funding that promotes our enemies’ narrative. Terrorists won’t be presented as heroes using Israeli funding, and soldiers won’t be presented as murderers.”

‘People will die’: Lapid tells Netanyahu he must stop Ben Gvir’s planned Temple Mount visit

Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid speaks during a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Regarding National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s declared intention to visit Jerusalem’s Temple Mount in the near future, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the far-right politician “must not go” to the holy site, which has long served as a focus of conflict with the Palestinians.

“Itamar Ben Gvir must not go up to Temple Mount,” says Lapid. “It is a deliberate provocation that will put lives in danger and cost lives.”

“Weak though Netanyahu is, he must, this time, stand up and tell him, You are not going to the Temple Mount. People will die,” Lapid adds.

“MKs go up, ministers don’t,” Lapid adds in response to reporter questions at the outset of his Yesh Atid party’s Knesset faction meeting. “It will be viewed by the whole world as breaking the status quo, even if it’s not.”

Judaism’s holiest site and Islam’s third holiest, only Muslims are allowed to pray at the Temple Mount while others are allowed to visit under strict restrictions, under a sensitive status quo.

Liberman says new Netanyahu government is ‘the end of Zionism’

Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman speaks during his party's Knesset faction, holding a copy of the recently signed coalition agreements in his left hand and a copy of Theodor Herzl's The Jewish State in his right, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman says that the new government marks “the end of Zionism.”

“It’s not the end of Israel, at least in the meantime. But certainly it is the end of Zionism,” says Liberman at the outset of his party’s first faction meeting since the new government took office on Thursday.

Holding up a copy of Theodor Herzl’s seminal work “The Jewish State,” Liberman says there is “a 100% contradiction” between the founding work of the Zionist movement and the new government’s coalition agreements.

Liberman also criticizes the new coalition for intending to shuffle around various parts of government offices, moving some sections to the authority of other ministries. The Education Ministry has been particularly affected, with several pieces to be cleaved off in promises to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s various coalition partners.

Knesset panel debates formation of 16 committees; Yesh Atid complains of discrimination

The Knesset’s Arrangements Committee opens its discussion on forming the 25th Knesset’s 16 permanent committees, debating the committee staffing proposal offered to the opposition by the coalition.

Committees perform key oversight and bill preparation work, and the coalition has presented a committee staffing plan that they characterized as similar to the one they received as opposition parties in the past Knesset. Citing unfair committee representation, the current coalition parties refused at the time to take committee seats in the 24th Knesset, when they were in the opposition.

According to the plan, which is not expected to come for a vote today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party will lead the Knesset House Committee, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee, and may lead a national infrastructure and a gas fund committee.

Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman will lead the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, which is expected to feature fights about the coalition’s ambitious judicial reform agenda. Religious Zionism may also lead the national infrastructure committee.

Otzma Yehudit MK Zvika Fogel, a former IDF general, will head the National Security Committee, which will work closely with his party leader, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. The party might also helm the gas fund committee.

United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni will reprise his longtime role as the head of the Knesset’s Finance Committee, whose temporary formulation he already chairs. Party MK Yaakov Asher will take the Interior Committee and MK Yisrael Eichler will chair the Labor and Welfare Committee.

Shas will oversee the Education and Health committees.

The Committee on the Status of Women, Science and Technology, as well as the State Control Committee, will go to the opposition.

Former prime minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid is the opposition’s largest party, and it claims that the proposed allocation discriminates against the party. While most opposition parties received a per-party allocation in the plan, 24-seat Yesh Atid’s allocation was lumped together with the five-seat Islamist party Ra’am.

If it holds, the Yesh Atid-Ra’am grouping will receive a combined 50 committee placements.

National Unity received 21 placements, Yisrael Beytenu 10, Hadash-Ta’al 9, and Labor 7. In all, opposition parties received 97 placements to the coalition’s 111.

New Foreign Minister Cohen meets predecessor Lapid ahead of welcome ceremony

New Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, left, and his predecessor Yair Lapid meet for a handover meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Foreign Ministry)

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen meets with his predecessor, opposition leader Yair Lapid, at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

According to the ministry, the two discussed Israel-US ties, the Iranian threat and expanding the Abraham Accords.

Cohen is having his official welcome ceremony at the ministry this afternoon.

In 1st speech, Foreign Minister Cohen hails US, EU ties, vows to ‘talk less’ on Ukraine

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen delivers his inaugural speech to Israel’s diplomats at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Lazar Berman/The Times of Israel)

In his inaugural speech to Foreign Ministry staff, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says that Israel’s relationship with the US “stands at the top of our priorities.”

“There is no replacement for Israel-US ties,” he says. “This is a long-term strategic partnership based first and foremost on shared values and on interests that we share.”

He is scheduled to speak with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after the Foreign Ministry welcoming ceremony.

Cohen also says Israel is a key partner for Europe, and has an opportunity to deepen its ties with the EU.

He is slated to speak with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov tomorrow.

He then addresses the Abraham Accords, announcing that the next meeting of the Negev Forum will take place in March in Morocco.

“The expansion of the Abraham Accords is not a question of if, but when,” he says.

Regarding Ukraine, Cohen only says that this government will talk less and will continue humanitarian aid.

Cohen addresses the Iran nuclear threat, saying that Israel will focus on expanding its military capabilities while creating an international front united against Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“The countries of the world must stop burying their head in the sand,” he declares.

The foreign minister blasts the Palestinians for pursuing their goals in international forums like the International Court of Justice in The Hague: “The ones who should be brought to justice are the Palestinian leadership, which is the only place in the world that gives incentives to murder Jews because they are Jews.”

He calls on the international community to send a clear message to the Palestinian leadership: “Enough incitement in educational institutions and funding the murderers of Jews.”

Hailing Israel-Vatican bond, Herzog sends condolence letter to pope on Benedict XVI’s death

President Isaac Herzog presents Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu with the mandate to form the next government, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on November 13, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/ Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog sends a condolence letter to Pope Francis on the death of his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Herzog says that Israel remembers Benedict for “his outreach to the global Jewish community and his dedication to sanctifying the warm bond between our peoples.”

The president calls Benedict’s 2009 visit to Israel “a powerful moment for the relations between the Vatican and the State of Israel.”

Herzog also recalls Benedict and then-president Shimon Peres planting an olive tree together at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. “This tree, this living symbol of peace and brotherhood between Christians and Jews, serves as a beautiful reminder that our two peoples share deep and inseparable roots.”

“The State of Israel and the Jewish people join our Catholic brothers and sisters as you come together to commemorate and remember this holy and pious man,” writes Herzog. “As we say in the Jewish tradition, may his memory be blessed.”

Ministers tell High Court they plan to legalize, not evacuate, West Bank outpost Homesh

People walk by the water tower on the ruins of Homesh, on August 27, 2019. (Hillel Meir/Flash90)

The state informs the High Court of Justice that it has reversed the previous government’s decision to evacuate the illegal West Bank outpost of Homesh and will instead legalize the yeshiva located there by repealing parts of the 2005 Disengagement Law.

Homesh was built on private Palestinian land and the previous government told the court last year that it would evacuate the illegal yeshiva and outpost at the site, which has been rebuilt on several occasions since the settlement was first demolished by the state in 2005.

The Disengagement Law made settlement in Homesh and other areas of the northern West Bank illegal. Its planned repeal is in line with the recently signed coalition agreements.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is a minister in the Defense Ministry,  issue a joint statement, announcing this plan.

Settlement activists praise the new government for adopting the new position, including head of the Samaria Regional Council Yossi Dagan who says settlers have “dreamed day and night to return there and rebuild the settlements anew” since the evacuation of Homesh and three other settlements in the area, which took place alongside the 2005 disengagement from Gaza.

Left-wing groups denounce the government’s new policy, however, with Yesh Din saying that legalizing Homesh violates international law and would “deepen the oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian residents who own the land there.”