Naftali Bennett

Benny Gantz speaks at the launch of the National Unity party campaign for the upcoming elections in Tel Aviv, September 6, 2022.(Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

November 24, 2023, 11:15 am

Election poll shows Gantz at 43 seats, Netanyahu’s Likud at 18, Smotrich out

Wartime survey finds coalition parties would crash to 41 seats, opposition parties would skyrocket to 79; respondents prefer Gantz to Netanyahu as PM, 52%-27%

By ToI Staff

Personal ads for reserve soldiers posted on the Instagram story of Maya Wertheimer, screenshotted on October 25, 2023. (Composite/screengrab)

October 25, 2023, 9:39 pm

Serving up love: Israelis see war as catalyst to matchmake

TV host Maya Wertheimer and former PM Naftali Bennett are among those using ongoing conflict to try and help people find their soulmates

By Amy Spiro

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrive for their meeting in Lusail, Qatar, October 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

October 25, 2023, 4:30 pm

In rare praise, Israel hails Qatar’s ‘crucial’ diplomatic efforts in Gaza crisis

National security adviser says Doha an ‘essential party in facilitation of humanitarian solution,’ after Hamas freed four hostages; former PM Bennett: Qatar is the enemy itself

By Michael Bachner and ToI Staff

Outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announces he won't run in the next elections, at a press conference in the Knesset, June 29, 2022. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

October 23, 2023, 2:02 pm

Bennett says he too bears responsibility for failure that led to Hamas assault

Former PM is the latest senior official to acknowledge culpability; Netanyahu has so far refrained from shouldering any of the blame

By ToI Staff

Former Meretz MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi (right) tours the The Holy Family Hospital in Nazareth with Health Minister Moshe Arbel of the Shas party, July 4, 2023. (Social media screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

October 3, 2023, 4:04 pm

Ex-Meretz MK who voted against her own coalition takes job with current gov’t – reports

Calls made for police bribery probe of Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, who helped expedite the demise of Bennett-Lapid coalition, over reports she has taken a position in Interior Ministry

By Jeremy Sharon

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court for a hearing in a defamation lawsuit he brought, September 11, 2023 (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)

September 11, 2023, 1:20 pm

‘Shame and disgrace’: Bennett wins defamation suit over claim mother not Jewish

Court awards tens of thousands in compensation from rabbi; judge asks former PM to reduce claim in 2nd case

By ToI Staff

The 'Wing of Zion,' the Israeli version of Air Force One, is seen above Ben Gurion Airport, on its first test flight, November 3, 2019. (Yoav Weiss/Israel Aerospace Industries)

September 4, 2023, 4:26 pm

Long-delayed ‘Israeli Air Force One’ set to finally become operational in November

Years in the making, ‘Wing of Zion’ plane expected to bring Israeli delegation to Dubai climate conference, after controversial jet was mothballed by Bennett last year

By Carrie Keller-Lynn and ToI Staff

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett (right) in a BBC interview during which anchor Anjana Gadgil put it to him him that the Israel Defense Forces 'are happy to kill children' in the Jenin operation, July 4, 2023. (Youtube screenshot; used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

July 6, 2023, 1:09 am

BBC anchor to ex-Israeli PM on Jenin op: ‘Israeli forces are happy to kill children?’

Naftali Bennett says all the Palestinians killed in West Bank incursion were combatants. ‘Terrorists — but children,’ responds interviewer Anjana Gadgil

By ToI Staff

Ofri Meoded Danon and his mother celebrate his bar mitzvah at the egalitarian plaza of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel in May 2023. (Courtesy of Meoded Danon)

June 23, 2023, 9:56 am

Red tape keeps non-Orthodox worshipers a stone’s throw from the Western Wall

5 years after stone collapse at holy site, authorities have yet to reopen access to Wall at egalitarian section; religious activists argue delay is deliberate

By Canaan Lidor

Then-alternate prime minister Naftali Bennett at a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on September 18, 2022. (Olivier Fitousi/Flash90)

May 24, 2023, 5:53 pm

Bennett wins defamation suit against rabbi who claimed he wasn’t Jewish

Rabbi Ronen Shaulov apologizes for false claims about ex-PM and his parents; court to decide at future date on damages, which Bennett has said he’ll donate

By ToI Staff

File: Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (left), the incoming interim prime minister, and outgoing premier Naftali Bennett (right) sit in the Knesset during voting to dissolve parliament for new elections, on June 30, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

May 21, 2023, 9:18 am

PM residence expenses for Bennett, Lapid significantly lower than for Netanyahu

Data shows less than $270,000 spent on residences of both Bennett and Lapid in 2022, compared to $685,000 spent by Netanyahu family on homes in Jerusalem, Caesarea in 2019

By ToI Staff

Livnat Green gives an interview to Channel 13 news on November 5, 2020. (Screenshot: Twitter; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

May 10, 2023, 11:40 am

Jewish woman shot dead at West Bank crossing was taken in by Bennett when homeless

Livnat Green, who committed apparent ‘suicide by cop,’ had a troubled life, moving between welfare institutions and suffering from PTSD after her military service

By ToI Staff

President Isaac Herzog (left) meets with UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on December 5, 2022. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

May 9, 2023, 2:57 pm

How Israel came to the UAE’s aid after the 2022 Houthi missile strikes

Book on Abraham Accords reveals extent of Jerusalem’s security assistance to Abu Dhabi, unlike what Emiratis felt was lackluster support from the US

By Jacob Magid

Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, May 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

May 4, 2023, 2:45 pm

Plurality of Israelis say Bennett, Lapid did better job on Gaza than Netanyahu – poll

42% of respondents say previous government handled conflict with Palestinian enclave better than current coalition, including a fifth of Likud voters; 43% back a military operation

By ToI Staff

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tours Lod, April 17, 2023. (Flash90)

May 3, 2023, 12:13 pm

Coalition tensions rise as Otzma Yehudit boycotts Knesset over ‘feeble’ Gaza response

Fissures show in Netanyahu’s hardline government, as it faces mounting internal pressure over domestic policies and deepening conflict with Palestinians

By ToI Staff