Yisrael Gantz

Israelis cast their votes at a polling station in the Arab town of Beit Safafa on March 17, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

September 16, 2019, 7:42 pm

Before voting begins, Likud said to record warnings that Arab turnout is high

In prepared messages for use on election day and leaked a day before, potential voters told of strong showing in ‘left-wing strongholds’; Likud denies responsibility

By TOI staff

Binyamin Regional Council chairman Yisrael Gantz (L) gives an award to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an inaugural ceremony of a new interchange at the central West Bank settlement of Adam on December 11, 2018. (Yossi Zamir)

May 20, 2019, 11:44 pm

How settler leaders worked to reelect Netanyahu and what they want in return

While they’ve sparred with him in the past, prominent West Bank mayors put aside differences to campaign door-to-door for PM’s Likud party days after his on-air annexation pledge

By Jacob Magid

Benny Gantz, head of the Israel Resilience party, speaks at an event to open his election campaign in Tel Aviv on January 29, 2019. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

February 18, 2019, 12:30 am

Polls show Israel Resilience, Yesh Atid losing seats to Labor

Ex-army chief Benny Gantz’s party slips to 18 seats in one survey and Yair Lapid-headed faction falls to 10 in another, as Labor continues to show slight surge after primary

By Stuart Winer

Members of the Israeli security forces remove a caravan that settlers had brought to the former outpost of Amona on January 3, 2019. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

January 4, 2019, 1:52 am

Amid criticism, PM claims he told aide to call off Amona evacuation — report

Military secretary Avi Blot blamed after reportedly failing to relay order to halt in time, but some don’t buy story; defense official admits army gave settlers heads-up

By Jacob Magid

IDF forces seen at the illegal outpost of Amona in the West Bank on January 3, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

January 3, 2019, 12:37 pm

Right-wing leaders slam PM for evacuating Amona but not Palestinian hamlet

Netanyahu also takes heat from left after clearing of illegal structures in West Bank, with opposition parties accusing government of emboldening ‘dangerous’ settler ‘militias’

By Michael Bachner and Jacob Magid

Border Police clear several hundred settler youths who had crammed into a pair of illegally placed mobile homes on the Amona outpost on January 3, 2018. (Binyamin Regional Council)

January 3, 2019, 8:33 am

23 police officers, 4 settlers hurt in violent clashes at Amona outpost

Police clear 2 mobile homes installed illegally on West Bank hilltop; 7 demonstrators arrested; hundreds of protesters converge on site; far-right activists say at least 10 hurt

By Jacob Magid

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (c) meets with settler leaders in his office on February 25, 2018. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

December 30, 2018, 2:00 pm

The PM is again warning settlers of a ‘real threat.’ This time it may not work

Like in 2015, Netanyahu insists that only Likud can safeguard their homes — even if it won’t build more — but a new generation of farther-right West Bank leaders isn’t so sure

By Jacob Magid

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets settler leaders in Jerusalem, December 26, 2018 (Haim Zach/GPO)

December 26, 2018, 12:39 pm

The left is recruiting the media to oust my government, PM tells settler leaders

Netanyahu warns West Bank council heads that if the left is victorious, all his hard work getting Washington to agree to recent settlement expansion will be ‘immediately reversed’

By Jacob Magid

Yossi Dagan, the head of Shomron Regional Council, addresses the 14th annual B'Sheva Jerusalem Conference on February 12, 2017. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

December 26, 2018, 11:20 am

3 settler leaders boycott PM meeting, saying ‘we’re being given the runaround’

Samaria, Binyamin, Kiryat Arba council heads ‘see no value’ in confab while their demands for substantial settlement building, return of West Bank roadblocks are ignored

By Jacob Magid

Settlers and right-wing activists protest against the ongoing terror attacks against Israelis in the West Bank outside the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on December 16, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

December 19, 2018, 8:48 pm

Settler leader accuses counterparts of ‘dancing on blood’ of terror victims

Jordan Valley Regional Council chairman David Elhayani: It’s ‘immoral’ to utilize aftermath of Palestinian attacks to demand further entrenching of Israeli presence in territories

By Jacob Magid

Settlers install a pair of caravans on the hilltop where the illegal Amona outpost once stood on December 13, 2018. (Bezalel Smotrich/Twitter)

December 14, 2018, 5:32 pm

Amid Palestinian terror, settlers set up 2 caravans at razed Amona outpost

Right-wing activists say they purchased 40 dunams of land on hilltop in central West Bank from Palestinian landowners; Defense Ministry says move wasn’t coordinated as required

By Jacob Magid

Settler leaders pose for a photo outside the Prime Minister's Office following their meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu on June 7, 2017. From R-L, Gush Etzion Regional Council Chairman Shlomo Ne'eman, Ma'ale Adumim Mayor Benny Kasriel, Beit El Local Council Chairman Shai Alon, Yesha Council Chairman Avi Roeh, Karnei Shomron mayor Yigal Lahav, Yesha Council Director General Shiloh Adler, Elkana Mayor Asaf Mintzer, and Kiryat Arba Local Council Head Malachi Levinger. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)

October 31, 2018, 9:56 pm

New leadership in West Bank could deepen cracks in settler unity

Municipal election results embolden camp of council chairs who prefer working outside of Yesha settlement umbrella body to advance policies on behalf of Israelis over Green Line

By Jacob Magid