Upcoming Israeli Elections

[rylah]

..........terrorists -- that's the truth...

Not terrorists, but Freedom Fighters trying to free their country and people from the evil Israeli zionists who are known terrorists. ...

These Your street gang petty thieves "freedom fighters" wear Armani suits to sit in the air conditioned Zionist parliament, stealing the budget from projects meant for their electorate. All while going around town trying to ruin the business for the rest just so that they can later complain about something and look like important cocks on QatarTV

Arab mayor of Nazareth heckles Arab party leader Ayman Odeh
on Live TV

 

[rylah]

Poll: Left and Arabs - 57 seats, right and haredim - 56
Blue and White is the largest party with 34 seats, while the Likud wins 33 seats, according to Walla! news poll.

A Walla! news poll conducted by the Midgam Institute and released on Monday shows that the political stalemate continues.

If elections were held today, the poll found, Blue and White would be the largest party in the Knesset with 34 seats, while the Likud would win 33 seats.

The predominantly Arab Joint List party wins 13 seats, and the Labor-Gesher-Meretz faction receives ten seats.

The Shas party headed by Aryeh Deri has eight seats, as does United Torah Judaism. Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beyteu party wins seven seats. The Yamina party also has seven seats.

The Otzma Yehudit party does not pass the electoral threshold.

Divided into blocs, the right-wing-haredi bloc has 56 seats, the center-left bloc has 44, the Joint List with 13, and Yisrael Beytenu with seven seats remains the balance of power.

Another poll released by Channel 13 News on Monday found the right-wing and haredi bloc falling to 54 seats while the left-wing bloc and the Arab parties strengthening to a combined 58 seats.

In this poll, as well, neither side would be able to form a coalition without Yisrael Beytenu.

 

[rylah]

Bezalel Smotrich challenges Benny Gantz , angers the Arab MKs

Minister Smotrich told the Arab MKs that in the six months he has been Transportation Minister, he has done more for their constituents than they have done in all their years playing politics.

Minister Bezalel Smotrich challenged Blue&White leader Benny Gantz, on Monday, to step up to the Knesset podium and clearly declare that he won’t rely on the “terror supporting” Arab MKs to form a government.

Turning to the Arab MKs, Smotrich said he has no questions against them as “they have been hypocritical and ungrateful for years to the State of Israel and all the good is has brought for them.” He said they declare they want a “Palestinian State” but aren’t willing to give up their Israeli IDs to join one. And for good measure added that there is no such thing as a “Palestinian People” and there won’t be a Palestinian state.

Smotrich pointed out the hysteria of MK Ahmad Tibi and his cohorts after years of demanding an “end to the occupation” and for a “Palestinian state”, when they got scared that the Trump peace plan might actually force them to become citizens of “Palestine.”

Needless to say, each and every one of those points angered them. There hasn’t been such an exciting speech in the Knesset in a while.

Smotrich reminded Gantz that the last time an Israeli government relied on the Arab MKs, it left thousands dead and injured after the Oslo Accords passed.

Gantz did not step up to the podium after the challenge.

But Joint Arab List MK Ahmad Tibi did, and said he will make sure that Smotrich is not a minister in the next government.

 

[rylah]

Gantz's former company set to be investigated after election
Attorney General expected to announce criminal probe of "Fifth Dimension" company which was headed by Benny Gantz.

A criminal investigation may soon be opened into the Fifth Dimension artificial intelligence company, in which Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz served as an executive, Channel 13 News reported on Wednesday.

In recent days, the Prosecutor's Office has completed the investigation into the company, and is set to recommend that a criminal investigation be launched against various parties involved with the company.

Gantz himself is not a suspect, according to Channel 13, but other members of the company who allegedly fraudulently received funds from the police are suspects.

The investigation will likely be opened after March 2 Knesset election, the report said.

The Fifth Dimension affair was first exposed by journalist Gidi Weitz in the Haaretz newspaper and the State Comptroller later wrote a report on the subject.

The company sold an artificial intelligence system designed for the use of civilian enforcement agencies. In 2017, the police contracted with the company without a tender for the purpose of an experiment in operating the system at a cost of 4 million shekels.

Fifth Dimension closed in 2018, and all of its employees were dismissed.

While Gantz is not a suspect in the case and is not expected to be questioned under warning, he may be summoned to provide an open testimony.

Gantz's former company set to be investigated after election - Inside Israel

 

[rylah]

Will the haredi UTJ save the right-wing camp from losing
Otzma Yehudit's votes?
Haredi party aims to pull votes from far-right party which wasted two right-wing seats in last election.

Sources in the Ashkenazic-haredi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party have said that the party's campaign targeting the Religious Zionist sector is attempting to draw votes from the far-right Otzma Yehudit party.

Otzma Yehudit has been polling at just over 2%, far below the 3.25% required to enter the Knesset.

"There are many haredim and haredi-nationalists who vote for Otzma Yehudit Chairman [Itamar] Ben Gvir, despite the fact that he has no chance of passing the electoral threshold," the sources said. "We saw this in several of the past elections, and that's what's going to happen this time as well - if the public doesn't wake up."

According to them, when it comes to Judaism, UTJ provides the same or better as Otzma Yehudit.

"In the diplomatic arena as well, UTJ has clarified several times that it opposes dividing the Land of Israel, and everything that comes with it. And that is how it votes in the Knesset as well."

On Tuesday, Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush (UTJ) attended a meeting in Beitar Illit together with local Agudat Yisrael businessmen. During the meeting, Porush spoke about the results of September's elections, emphasizing the small changes which caused the party to receive significantly more support locally.

"In the last elections, UTJ received 900 more votes than it had received in the elections prior to those. According to our calculations, this growth represents more than the natural growth rate of those who acquire eligibility to vote," he noted.

The meeting also focused on expanding the party's reach, both in hasidic communities and among those who, despite being part of the haredi community, do not vote for haredi parties.

"Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party received 669 votes from Beitar Illit residents in the previous elections," Porush said. "These aren't people who will vote Blue and White, and they're also not going to vote for other parties. These are votes who need to come home, to UTJ. Beitar Illit, which surprised us in a positive way in the previous two elections, can surprise us in these elections as well."

Will the haredi UTJ save the right-wing camp from losing Otzma Yehudit's votes? - Haredi Community ‏

 

[rylah]

Poll: Right strengthens as Blue and White falls to 31 seats
Likud becomes largest party as Blue and White falters in latest poll by Direct Polls.

A poll conducted by the Direct Polls Institute shows that if the elections were held today (Thursday), the Likud would the largest party in Israel with 33 seats, followed by the Blue and White party with 31 seats.

The Joint Arab List would win 14 seats, followed by the Labor-Gesher-Meretz list with ten seats.

Shas would win nine seats, Yamina eight, and United Torah Judaism eight.

The Yisrael Beyteinu party would receive seven seats.

The Otzma Yehudit party would fail to clear the electoral threshold.

The poll shows a significant decline for the Blue and White party, which has consistently polled ahead of the Likud party. The left-wing parties would win 41 seats while the right-wing and haredi parties would win 58 seats, a small increase over previous polls. No side would be able to form a coalition without Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beyteinu party.

 

[rylah]

Gantz turns down Netanyahu's request for televised debate
Blue and White chairman dismisses Netanyahu's challenge for televised debate as a spin to divert attention from PM's trial.

Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz on Tuesday evening turned down Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's proposal to hold a televised debate between the two of them.

"What happened Netanyahu? Are you scared that there's a date for your confrontation with the prosecution's witnesses, so you're creating a spin? On March 17, you're going to court and the State of Israel must move forward," Gantz said.

Earlier on Tuesday evening, Netanyahu challenged Gantz to a debate.

Speaking in an interview on Channel 20, Netanyahu said, "I'm ready to come here or somewhere else, Benny Gantz. Listen, I invite you to a televised debate. Come on. We will choose someone, or you bring someone and I someone, we'll do a televised debate, talk to the public. I won't have teleprompters, let's say the real stuff. What we did and what we do for the State of Israel. I invite you to a televised debate.”

"We'll do a series of debates like in the US - one debate on the political side, a debate on security issues, a debate on the economic side; three TV debates. Only without a headset," he added.

Following Netanyahu’s call, both Channel 12 and Channel 13 invited Netanyahu and Gantz to a televised debate in their studios.

A Blue and White official said following Netanyahu’s statements that the invitation to a debate was a spin designed to turn public attention away from the Prime Minister's trial.

Netanyahu then said, “Benny, come to a debate! Stop being scared! Come to three debates, even if you only come to the first one that’ll be good. You say what you have to say and I'll say what I have to say. It looks like Gantz has a problem, he cannot stand up to pressure…if you can't stand the pressure of a television debate how will you lead the State of Israel? Do you know what pressures I have had to withstand? I stood in front of the whole world and the US president wanted a dangerous nuclear agreement and I said no and went against him.”

“Benny Gantz, stop being afraid, come to a debate, the citizens of Israel deserve to hear where things stand in economics, security, politics…come to a debate, stop being afraid. A Prime Minister who cannot face the most basic pressures cannot head a state. He should consult his close friend Ahmed Tibi.”

Gantz turns down Netanyahu's request for televised debate - Inside Israel

 

[rylah]

Early voting begins in Israel's 3rd Knesset election

Election day in Israel is still twelve days away, but for Israeli delegations around the world, voting has already begun.

More than 5,200 Israelis with voting rights in 96 Israeli delegations around the world, divided among 77 countries are casting ballots for elections to the 23rd Knesset.

The first to votes were cast by representatives in the Israeli Embassy in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, who already selected yesterday, followed immediately after by the vote of embassy workers in Canberra, Australia.

At the polling booth in Canberra, among other things, representatives of worldwide Bnei Akiva, Daniela Cohen and Eli Tzrinig, who operate in Sydney. "It is exciting to be one of the first voters. We are on a mission to set up a bridge between Israel and Diaspora Jewish communities, so the sense of responsibility to vote and make an impact only grows," the two said.

The voting procedure in the delegations will finish tomorrow morning in San Francisco and Los Angeles on the west coast of the United States.

 

[a loss for words]

Liberman with his 7 seats is going to make sure there is a 4th election

 

[rylah]

Liberman with his 7 seats is going to make sure there is a 4th election

Says all is already set,
200% there won't be another round

 

[rylah]

Shas election campaign

 

[rylah]

Shas: "Smach Bni" - The Story Of The Jewish State

"We have a Jewish state already 72 years.
Let's guard it."

 

[rylah]

Ben Gvir to Netanyahu:
'We will quit the race only if the Oslo Accords are canceled'
Otzma Yehudit chairman presents conditions for Netanyahu to meet in exchange for his party withdrawing from the election.

The chairman of the Otzma Yehudit party, Itamar Ben Gvir, convened a press conference on Wednesday evening in which he presented a series of conditions for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to meet in exchange for his party withdrawing from next week’s election to the Knesset.

Among the conditions set by Ben Gvir, who knows that there is no way the Prime Minister will agree: The cancellation of the Oslo Accords, changing the composition of the committee for the appointment of judges, removing control of the Temple Mount from the Waqf and evacuating Khan Al Ahmar even before this coming Shabbat.

Ben Gvir noted that if Netanyahu does not comply with these conditions, his party will run for the Knesset.

"Yesterday evening we were in Sderot and met with dozens of Otzma Yehudit activists who demanded that we run in order to have someone who promotes right-wing policies in the Knesset, and does not abandon the south," Ben Gvir said. "Amazingly, we are being attacked by the Likud of all parties, and ironically, the Likud warns us that a left-wing government might emerge, as if this government's policy is a right-wing policy."

"We know that Otzma is the only party who will protect the right. We are the only ones who make demands which are ideological. In light of the Prime Minister's claims that there is a right-wing government without us, we in Otzma Yehudit are ready to accept the challenge and we hereby inform the Prime Minister that if he so deeply cares about a right-wing government, if he meets the conditions which are the key things we want to promote in the Knesset, Otzma Yehudit can withdraw. We do not want and will not take even one shekel. We do not want any jobs.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Netanyahu said in an interview on Army Radio that Ben Gvir had no intention of withdrawing from the race, adding that he had tried to persuade him to do so in the past but understood that this was impossible.

Israel National News

 

[Lipush]

One more day of this circus. Theoretically.

 

[rylah]

27.6% voted by noon - the highest rate since 1999

News 13

 

[rylah]

38.1% voted by 2 p.m.
Overloading recorded at designated polling stations.

Ma'ariv

 

[toomuchtime_]

38.1% voted by 2 p.m.
Overloading recorded at designated polling stations.

Ma'ariv

I had thought people might stay home because of the coronavirus, but apparently not.

 

[rylah]

Exit poll: Likud 37, Blue and White 33
Exit poll shows Likud with 4-seat lead over Blue and White, right-wing bloc winning 60 seats.

With polls closing across Israel, exit polls published by Channel 12 News show that the Likud party has won 37 Knesset seats while the Blue and White party has won 33 seats.

The Joint Arab List won 14 seats, Shas nine seats, United Torah Judaism seven seats, Yamina seven, Labor-Gesher-Meretz seven, and Yisrael Beyteinu six seats.

According to the exit poll, the right-wing bloc received 60 seats, one shy of the 61 majority necessary to form a coalition.

A Channel 13 News exit poll also showed the right-wing bloc winning 60 seats. The poll also found that the Likud won 37 seats, while Blue and White won 32 seats.

According to the Channel 13 poll, the Joint Arab List won 14 seats, Shas nine, Yisrael Beyteinu eight, United Torah Judaism eight, Yamina six, and Labor-Gesher-Meretz six seats.

A Kan News exit poll had the Likud slightly lower at 36 seats, while the Blue and White party won 33 seats.

According to the Kan News poll, the third largest party is the Joint Arab List led by Ayman Odeh with 15 seats. Shas won nine seats, United Torah Judaism eight seats, Yamina seven seats, Yisrael Beyteinu six seats, and Labor-Gesher-Meretz six seats.

All three exit polls predict that the right-wing bloc will win 60 seats in total.

Israel National News

 

[rylah]

Ruling coalition requires 61 seats.

All 3 channels report the Right wing block 60 seats,
while the Left wing - Arab block 52-54 seats, and Lieberman 6-8.

Exit polls usually lean towards the Left,
with the soldier votes, not accounted in the exit polls, usually adding another 1-2 seats to the Right.

These are not final official results, but the expressions on the faces of news cast say a lot.

PM Netanyahu already declared he's not looking for a unity govt with the Left.
From a Likud center this evening:

 

[rylah]

On the way to the Knesset - the Druze candidate of the Likud in celebrations in Yarka

Ma'ariv Online