Lawmakers sent a strong letter to chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, saying they were concerned about Netanyahu’s support for a Saudi nuclear program.

By World Israel News Staff

In an interview Wednesday with Fox News, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) said that peace with the Jewish state was “getting closer every day.”

Normalization would happen “with the support from President Biden’s administration,” he said.

In the same interview, he stressed that if the Iranians can acquire a nuclear weapon, then the Saudis, too, should be given the same opportunity.

Indeed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israel’s nuclear and security specialists to work with U.S. negotiators to find a compromise that allows the Saudis to enrich uranium, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Israeli officials are “quietly working” with the White House to develop a “U.S.-run, uranium-enrichment operation” in Saudi Arabia for a civilian nuclear program, officials from both countries told the Journal.

In response, lawmakers from the Israeli Opposition sent a strong letter to Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, voicing their concern about the prime minister’s support for a Saudi nuclear program, Hebrew daily Ma’ariv reported.

“In recent months, we have been exposed in the media to the fact that the prime minister is inclined to accept a Saudi nuclear program presented as a nuclear program for peaceful purposes,” the letter states.

“We appeal to you to hold a professional and in-depth discussion in the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee about the security implications arising from this, with the participation of all security factors relevant to the issue in order to examine the effects of this move on the entire region and the security of the country.

“We would like to emphasize that there is a real concern that such a decision may be dangerous to Israel’s security, therefore a comprehensive discussion is required regarding all aspects of such an agreement.”

The letter adds a requests to meet as soon as possible to discuss the following issues:

– Was a comprehensive discussion held with all the security bodies relevant to the issue?

– Have the possible consequences of such a plan on the security of the State of Israel and the region been examined?

– Was there serious headquarters work with expert bodies on the subject?

– Is there an obligation to discuss this topic in the cabinet according to the law, and if so, will it take place and when?”

“We, the undersigned, request to convene the committee immediately for an emergency discussion on the subject out of commitment to the security of the state and the need to hold a substantive, in-depth and comprehensive discussion one hour earlier,” the letter concludes.

‘Bursting into an open door’

A spokesperson for Edelstein responded that the lawmakers were “bursting into an open door,” according to Ma’ariv, adding that the issue of normalization with Saudi Arabia in general and the security implications in particular were raised already a few months ago.

In addition, he said, “even before your application, the chairman of the Committee instructed me to schedule a meeting on the matter in the near future. Naturally, and due to the sensitivity of the matter, the discussion will not take place within the plenary of the committee as you requested in your application, but rather in the subcommittee for intelligence and secret services.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has reportedly working to undermine efforts by Netanyahu to normalize ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia and has been lobbying congressional Democrats to intervene against a possible peace deal.

Herzog supports ‘historic agreement’

Meanwhile, in a speech Thursday evening at the annual memorial ceremony at Yad LaShiryon, Latrun, for the fallen servicemen and women of the IDF Armored Corps, President Isaac Herzog expressed enthuiasm regarding the possibility of normalization with Saudi Arabia.

“I wholeheartedly welcome the important developments regarding the possibility of a historic agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a very important country, and I believe that a relationship based on partnership and friendship between us can be the foundation for a historic change in the history of the State of Israel and the entire Middle East.

“This opportunity of course depends on many factors, but I hope and wholeheartedly believe that it will be realized,” he said.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Friday interview with CNN that a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia was “likely” but that the opportunity for such a deal would only be available for the next few months.

The prime minister, however, raised significant concerns about Riyadh’s demand to enrich uranium.

“Would you be willing to blow up your coalition, essentially, to get this deal with Saudi done?”
Prime Minister Netanyahu: “I don't think it'll require that.”
“You think they'll go along with it?”
Netanyahu: “It's whether I go along with it.” pic.twitter.com/BCzRQ4MD3T

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 23, 2023

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Josh Reinstein, head of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, discusses “faith-based diplomacy” at a celebration Wednesday in honor of Israel’s 75th anniversary.

The post WATCH: ‘Faith-based diplomacy’ – Israel’s ‘most important weapon in its diplomatic arsenal’ appeared first on World Israel News.

Repeal of the same law for Gush Katif is next, they say, in order to correct the “historical injustice” of forcibly evacuating thousands of Jews from their homes in 2005. 

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News  

Right-wing MKs celebrated Monday night’s final passage of the bill repealing the Disengagement Law for northern Samaria, saying it should lead to the eventual return to the major area forcibly evacuated in 2005 as well – Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip.

Otzma Yehudit party MK Limor Son Har-Melech, who introduced the bill with the Likud’s Yuli Edelstein, touched on both issues in her Knesset speech after the vote, which passed 31 to 18.

“This is a day of endless joy over the historical correction we made here in the Knesset,” said the MK, who experienced the Disengagement personally, having been forced out of her home in Homesh, one of the four northern Samarian villages destroyed by Ariel Sharon’s government.

“After 18 years of deportation, destruction and persecution of anyone who wanted to return to the territory of the settlements that were evacuated and correct the injustice, today, the Knesset of Israel declares with a clear majority that the deportation and the law that constituted a disgrace to the people of Israel and trampled underfoot thousands of pioneering citizens are a thing of the past.”

She not only called for the immediate re-establishment of Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim, but for the government to come up with a settlement plan “for the other vast areas of northern Samaria,” in order to “ensure Jewish control of this land.”

This would not be enough, however, she added.

“I say here today with a clear voice: Our vision is the complete cancellation of the Disengagement Law and the return to all the settlements that were evacuated and destroyed,” including the 22 that were destroyed in Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip

“This is an inseparable part of the Land of Israel, the land of our birth, and we have the right and duty to settle there,” she said.

Edelstein, who was one of only a few MKs who consistently voted against the forced expulsion of over 8,000 Jews from their homes in 2005, posted a statement to social media saying in part, “The State of Israel tonight began its recovery process from the deportation disaster. This is the first and significant step towards a real repair and establishment of Israel in the territories of the homeland that belong to it.

“We shouted, we warned, and despite the political threats we received at that time, we voted against the Disengagement. We failed, but not without a struggle,” he added. “We gave up territories – we received missiles; now we will get life!”

Edelstein, who is chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, also brushed aside a comment made by U.S. Ambassador Tom Nides to The Jerusalem Post ahead of the vote, saying that the Biden administration was not happy with the law.

“We have been very clear we oppose the bill,” Nides said, noting that the Disengagement had been part of an understanding reached between then-prime minister Ariel Sharon and president George Bush.

Edelstein commented that “the ambassador has my personal phone number and he never bothered to call because it is not an issue of major interest to anyone…not a single American official has spoken to any single Israeli official on that matter.”

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The bill’s proponents called it a ‘historic moment,’ as it will allow the four settlements destroyed there in 2005 to be rebuilt.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A bill cancelling the Disengagement Law for northern Samaria passed its initial reading in the Knesset Wednesday 62-36, clearing the first hurdle in allowing the four settlements destroyed there in 2005 to be rebuilt.

Technically, the law revokes eight clauses that forbade any entry or stay in Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim, which were forcibly evacuated and leveled by the Israeli government as part of its larger removal of all Jews from the Gaza Strip.

The yeshiva that had stood in Homesh was reconstituted by national religious rabbis in temporary buildings that have repeatedly been taken down by Israeli authorities over the years. After a student there, Yehuda Dimentman, was murdered in a drive-by shooting as he and others were driving home in December 2021, his family called for the re-legalization of the settlement as a proper response to the terrorism.

Yehuda’s father was in the plenum for the vote, as was Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, who is an expellee from Sa-Nur.

Right-wingers in Israel have long claimed that the entire expulsion was a disaster for Israel’s security. Hamas seized Gaza in a violent coup shortly thereafter, giving it a huge base from which it constantly attacks Israel, while leaving critical areas in Samaria led to an upsurge of terrorism that has yet to end.

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) proposed the bill along with Minister of National Missions Orit Strock (Religious Zionist party) and MK Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit). Son Har-Melech was evicted from Homesh during the Disengagement and founded an organization called Homesh First that sought to rebuilt the village.

Edelstein told Israel National News that terrorism stemming from this area worries the government “most” out of all of Judea and Samaria, but that is not the only problem.

“Over time, where there is no settlement and no civilian population, it is very difficult to maintain effective control over the territory,” he said, and the “scheming enemy,” as he called the Palestinian Authority, is taking advantage.

“With the encouragement and support of the European Union, the Palestinians are taking bites out of Area C and establishing facts on the ground,” he said. “Once they manage to establish a fact – it is very difficult to change it.”

“The solution is to settle in Judea and Samaria,” he continued. “We need to return and lead construction in all the regions of the homeland, and provide the infrastructure for the residents who determine with their bodies and homes the borders of the State of Israel.”

Strock called the passage of the law a “historic moment,” as “for the first time, the State of Israel is working to erase the stain of the Disengagement from its laws and gives respect to the heroes of Homesh for their many years of struggle.”

Dagan, who also called the day “historic,” said he had “no words to describe the excitement.”

“This is a day for which we have been waiting for 18 years to correct an injustice and folly,” he said. “We expect the government and the Knesset to complete the task until the law is fully passed because that is what the government was formed for.”

The bill will go to an as-yet undesignated Knesset committee for final polishing before being returned to the plenum for its next readings.

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Likud MKs Yuli Edelstein and Danny Danon visited the Khan al-Ahmar outpost, which has been the subject of Israeli court battles, as Prime Minister Netanyahu is under competing pressures to act after the demolition of an illegal Jewish outpost.

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Chairman of Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Yuli Edelstein and Tom Nides speak about settlements, Iran and bilateral ties.

By JNS

The chair of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee told U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides that settlement expansion would continue, despite Washington’s objections.

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the former Knesset speaker who now heads the pivotal committee, held an introductory meeting with Nides on Wednesday.

“I expressed to the ambassador my clear position regarding the need for construction in the areas of settlement in Judea and Samaria,” said Edelstein, a longtime resident of Gush Etzion. “The families there are developing and it’s impossible to put their lives on hold. Construction should continue.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently laid out the new government’s guiding principles, including a statement that the Jewish people have “an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel.”

Coalition agreements include a pledge to expand Jewish building in Judea and Samaria and to apply Israeli sovereignty over substantial portions of the territory, though the language of the provision gives Netanyahu wiggle room to avoid taking such steps if necessary.

On Tuesday, Nides told the Kan public broadcaster that Netanyahu understands Washington’s position of maintaining the possibility of a two-state solution, in addition to its opposition to “legalizing outposts and massive settlement expansion.”

Edelstein and Nides discussed a number of issues related to bilateral ties between their countries, and the need to strengthen the relationship despite “the possibility of differences of opinion between friends,” according to a Knesset statement.

Among the topics of discussion were regional status and threats, further Israeli-Arab normalization potential and cooperation at the United Nations. Additionally, Edelstein and Nides spoke about Israel’s relationship with the Palestinian Authority.

“We both agreed that the most important issue is the Iranian one, and we expressed our mutual commitment to handling and managing this acute crisis,” Edelstein said.

He also told Nides that Israel is committed to upholding the status quo at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Nides was critical of a visit to Judaism’s holiest site last week by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying in a statement that he had “been very clear in conversations with the Israeli government on the issue of preserving the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites” and that “actions that prevent [the preservation of the status quo] are unacceptable.”

Nides said earlier this week that he takes Netanyahu’s pledge to maintain the status quo at face value. Ben-Gvir’s visit, though controversial based on his advocacy for increased Jewish rights at the Temple Mount, was within the bounds of the status quo, as he visited within the limited time allowed for Jews, quietly walked along an approved route and did not pray.

Washington, Ramallah, Amman and other capitals were nevertheless critical, with some claiming the visit as a provocation, and others exaggerating the circumstances—including accusations that Ben-Gvir “stormed” the compound, which also serves as home to the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock.

Edelstein called for the P.A. to be reprimanded for claiming Ben-Gvir’s visit violated the status quo. The P.A. has been accused by Israel in the past of inflaming tensions and inciting violence with claims of Israeli incursions into Al Aqsa.

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The Samaria yeshiva was left in darkness on one of the hottest weekends of the year.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Politicians protested in real time to no avail the IDF’s confiscation two hours before the Sabbath of the Homesh Yeshiva’s solar panels, leaving the community without electricity on one of the hottest weekends of the year.

Former Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud), head of the “Homesh First” lobby in parliament, blasted Defense Minister Benny Gantz, “who sent the forces” to take the panels that would leave the students in darkness.

“I strongly condemn any harm to the Jewish settlement, of course, but one thing does not give me rest – why does Benny Gantz always send troops just before Shabbat? Where does this obtuseness and disregard for the sanctity of the Sabbath come from?”

MK Orit Strook (Religious Zionism) was one of several who took Gantz to task for trying to intimidate the yeshiva while the security situation around it in Judea and Samaria deteriorates.

“The Defense Minister is busy with… Homesh! Forget about such trifles such as: riots on the Alon highway, a shooting attack on the way out of Nablus/Shechem (plus a terrorist who came to collect the weapons later), a child who was killed because of the Civil Administration’s failures in dealing with Palestinian drivers…. These are the instructions of a person who presents himself as a man of the [political] center, while he is really a complete leftist,” she said.

MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, a longtime critic of the Blue and White party head, said Friday that “Gantz continues to be heroic over Jews and serve the interests of the terrorist [Palestinian Authority president] Abu Mazen.”

He then tweeted Saturday night, “Over the entire Sabbath, hundreds of thousands of residents of Judea and Samaria suffered from nonstop live gunfire and fireworks due to the revelation of the matriculation scores of Palestinian Authority residents.

“And where is Defense Minister Benny Gantz? Instead of sending soldiers for a one-time chance to seize thousands of weapons, Gantz sends soldiers to confiscate the solar panels providing electricity to the Homesh settlers. Gantz isn’t left-wing, he’s the far left.”

Homesh has been targeted by the IDF repeatedly over the past several months, with the road to the community blocked to all but those who study there, the yeshiva head being called in for an interrogation, and various structures around the yeshiva being pulled down.

Homesh yeshiva director Shmuel Wandy called the army’s harassment an “obsession.”

“Unfortunately, the security situation is getting worse, there are attempted attacks, rock-throwing; just a few hours ago a resident was [almost] lynched near Alei Zahav, and the security forces are only bothered by the yeshiva in Homesh. It’s unbelievable,” he said.

“Starting with the murder of [student] Yehuda [Dimentman] outside of Homesh in December 2021], the yeshiva is being obsessively harassed. This is a reward for terrorism. Confiscating parts of the yeshiva’s electrical system is a step up in the violation of Homesh, but we don’t despair. They won’t silence the voice of Torah in Homesh.”

Dimentman’s family has demanded that Homesh be legally reinstated as the proper answer to the attack that took his life.

Gantz said in May that “Israeli law requires” that the community be razed since the High Court ruled that much of it allegedly sits on private Palestinian land. It is one of the four villages in northern Samaria that the Israeli government destroyed along with those in Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip in 2005.

Supporters of the yeshiva that was returned to its original site after the destruction say that the Disengagement Law gives the IDF permission to permit a Jewish presence at a previously evacuated site under exceptional circumstances.

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Edelestein, along with MKs from both the opposition and coalition, intend on restoring Homesh. They believe this is a first step to the return of Jews in the rest of northern Samaria.

By World Israel News staff

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein promised to return Jewish settlement to Homesh in northern Samaria on Sunday during a visit with other members of the opposition to the Herev Le’et settlement, Israeli media reported.

“We plan on returning Jewish settlement to Homesh, and we will even build new homes there in the future,” Edelstein said.

Edelstein established the lobby for Homesh in 2007 with then MK Aryeh Eldad. Now Edelstein says that “it has become time to renew the lobby.” He, along with four other MKs from both the opposition and the coalition, including Yisrael Beiteinu, New Hope, and Yamina,  have joined the lobby.

The former health minister admitted that the efforts will not be easy but said that never in the past has he taken on something that he did not intend to finish.

“Control is with the IDF, and all it takes is brave policy making decisions,” Edelstein told Arutz Sheva.

“We will work through the parliament and will make every effort to repeal the [2005] Disengagement plan in the northern Samarian area, and then the way will be paved for Jewish return in Homesh,” he said in an interview.

Homesh was one of four settlements to be razed in 2005 as a part of the Disengagement plan, and the government has since maintained that the land is private Palestinian property, which is now used by farmers to access their land.

The settlement has been a site of contention after the government demolished a number of Jewish homes in the settlement only a week after Yehuda Dimentman, 25, was shot to death in a Palestinian terror attack as he was leaving the yeshiva. The IDF then made plans to evacuate the yeshiva.

However, Edelstein said Sunday that “The next goal after this is settling northern Samaria.” He added that the name of the new lobby is Homesh Tehila (beginning, first).

“Homesh has become a symbol, the lobby name shows that we believe it is possible to give a message of hope and change the change the direction of the evacuation plan,” he explained.

The demolition and planned evacuation in December attracted some tens of thousands of protesters.

“An Israeli government evacuating Jews from the place where a Jew was killed is what is giving the Arabs the sense that they rule the land,” said Noam party head Avi Maoz at the time.

That same week, the Knesset struck down a vote in favor of declaring legalization for the Homesh yeshiva, where Dimentman had been studying, in addition to some 70 West Bank outposts.

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Addressing criticism from the left, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein defended Herzog’s decision to travel to Hebron, questioning the political nature of the visit. 

By Tobias Siegal, World Israel News

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has announced that he will attend a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony at the Cave of the Patriarchs on Sunday evening with the participation of Jewish leaders and residents of Hebron.

Herzog’s announcement drew opposition from the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terror organizations, from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and from Israeli left-wing movements.

Believed to be the the burial site of the three Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, the Cave of the Patriarchs is considered Judaism’s second holiest site and Islam’s fourth. The site houses both Jewish sanctuaries of worship and the Ibrahimi mosque.

Hamas official Ismail Redwan stated Friday that Herzog’s intent to “light the first candle for the so-called ‘Hanukkah’ at the Ibrahimi Mosque” is “a provocation of the Palestinians’ feelings and a blatant desecration of the sanctity of the mosque.”

Hamas later called on the Arab residents of Judea and Samaria to act with violence and “ward off this provocative move and confront the Israeli occupation aggression on the Ibrahimi Mosque.”

The Islamic Jihad released a similar statement, calling on the residents of Hebron to “put aside internal conflicts and to focus on Israel.” The organization said that “the entire Palestinian people should prevent [Herzog’s visit] by force.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called Herzog’s planned visit “a dangerous precedent attempting to Judaize the site” and argued that such visits “provide support to the organized terror of settlers.”

Palestinian TV released footage of several Palestinian protesters opposing Herzog’s visit who arrived to the entrance of the site and clashed with Israeli soldiers positioned there hours before Herzog’s planned arrival.

جيش الاحتلال يعتدي على فلسطينيين احتشدوا بالقرب من المسجد الإبراهيمي في مدينة الخليل المحتلة رفضاً لإقتحامات الاحتلال وقادته وتأكيداً على المكان المقدس في فلسطين pic.twitter.com/x8V3qBYRlI

— غزة الآن – Gaza Now #عاجل (@GazaNownews) November 28, 2021

The Peace Now movement, which opposes Israel’s presence in Hebron, called Herzog’s visit “disappointing.”

The left-wing movement said it would also send several of its members to the Cave of the Patriarchs to protest the president’s visit.

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein defended Herzog’s decision to travel to Hebron, questioning the political nature of the visit.

“People have lost their minds,” he told Israel National News. “If an Israeli president, who doesn’t affiliate himself with the right, and does not see the Cave of the Patriarchs as a controversial issue or something political – why attack him? I don’t understand it,” Edelstein said.

“I wish our president a positive experience lighting a Hanukkah candle at the Cave of the Patriarchs,” Edelstein added. “It shouldn’t be different from when he goes lighting Hanukkah candles across Israel and in other historic sites.”

Following May’s 11-day battle in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, Israel decided to freeze the building of a handicapped-accessible entry to the Cave of the Patriarchs after the Palestinian Authority had deemed the move as “Judaization” of the site and threatened retaliation.

Despite the Palestinian opposition, the plans were initially approved by then-Defense Minister Naftali Bennett and were put on hold again in May by Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

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After Yuli Edelstein announced he would run for party head whenever primaries are held, a snap survey says he’d receive only 6% of the vote.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Some 86% of Likud members would vote for Benjamin Netanyahu to remain their party’s leader, a Channel 12 survey showed Tuesday.

The poll, taken immediately after former cabinet minister Yuli Edelstein declared Monday his intention to challenge Netanyahu whenever primaries would be held, had Edelstein supported by only six percent of those questioned.

The survey also showed that support for the Likud, now in the opposition, would rise under the current head to 34 mandates if elections were held now. Under Edelstein’s leadership, the Likud would fall drastically to 20 seats.

Edelstein rejected the conclusion that he would therefore have no chance of forming a coalition, tweeting, “The Channel 12 survey publicized tonight proves clearly what I said yesterday. Under me, the Likud can already establish a fully right-wing government tomorrow morning…. If we don’t already do what is necessary, the Likud will remain outside!”

The survey numbers seem to back up his claim. Although the Likud would be weaker with him as No. 1, there are more than enough partners among the right-wing and religious parties to make up the difference. This is if Edelstein was correct when he said that the only impediment over the last four elections was that Netanyahu headed the party.

The leaders of Yamina (eight projected seats), Yisrael Beytenu (5), and New Hope (4), all said during those post-election negotiations that they would enter a Likud-led government if Netanyahu, who had been indicted in three corruption cases, would step down. If they would keep their word with Edelstein at the top, they would join the national-religious (11) and two ultra-Orthodox (haredi) parties (19) to create a solid majority of 67 seats in the Knesset.

There could even be a chance that Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party, with 11 projected mandates, would join, leading to an unheard-of 78-seat super-majority.

If Netanyahu led the Likud, he would only be able to count on the religious comrades he had in the previous four elections, giving the group 56 seats in all. Perhaps surprisingly, 68% of Likud respondents did not agree with Edelstein’s claim that the party could not return to rule the country if Netanyahu remained its leader.

Nevertheless, the current right-center-left-Arab coalition whose main glue was dubbed “Just not Bibi (Netanyahu’s nickname),” would not prevail either according to the poll, receiving a total of only 58 seats. This indicates a loss of public support that the super-slim 61-seat government cannot afford.

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Says Likud can’t win ever again under Bibi.

By Gil Tanenbaum, TPS

Former Israeli Cabinet Minister and Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein has declared his intention to challenge Binyamin Netanyahu for the leadership of Israel’s Likud Party. He made the announcement this evening, Monday, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News.

Edelstein said that he hopes to push for new elections for the Likud leadership within the next few months. Israeli parties generally require new elections for their leadership after an election loss.

Netanyahu was Israel’s longest serving prime minister, both in total years and in consecutive years. He lost his first bid for reelection in 1999, after serving a shortened three year first term. Netanyahu returned to office in 2009, was elected to three terms, including one shortened term of just two years, serving as prime minister for more than 12 consecutive years. He was voted out of office last June when the Knesset elected its current coalition government.

Edelstein slammed Netanyahu saying that the Likud could never win an election again as long as he continues as the party’s leader.

In the interview, Edelstein pointed out that while the Likud won the most seats in the Knesset in each of the four elections held between April 2019 and April 2021 and it could have formed a new coalition after any of these elections if it were not for the personal animosity held towards Netanyahu by so many. There are also many who will not support a government led by someone under criminal indictment, as Netanyahu currently is.

Three parties in the current Knesset, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beitenu and Gidon Sa’ar’s New Hope would all have joined a Likud led government, but only without Netanyahu serving as the prime minister.

“We have held elections four times, four times the Likud has been the largest faction in the Knesset, and four times we have failed to form a national government headed by the Likud,” Edelstein told Channel 12 said. “We will remain in the opposition for many years … Netanyahu should be replaced.”

“The real choice of Likud members will not be between me and Binyamin Netanyahu, it will be between me and Lapid,” he added. “Because with Binyamin Netanyahu we failed four times at forming the government.”

“Four times we held elections, four times the Likud so the largest faction in the gap in the Knesset, and four times we were not able to put together a national government headed by the Likud. So if we do not do serious soul-searching at home,” said Edelstein, lamenting that the Likud will continue as an opposition party for many years as long as it is led by Netanyahu.

Edelstein also condemned the Bennett government saying, “The current government simply dangerous for Israel, is run by Meretz and the Islamic Movement, for no reason.”

Yuli Edelstein, 63, was born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union. He came to Israel at the age of 29. Edelstein has been a member of the Knesset for 22 of the last 25 years, originally serving with the Yisrael B’Aliyah Russian immigrant party. That party merged with the Likud after the election of 2003 and he has been in the Likud ever since.

Edelstein served as Minister of Immigrant Absorption (1996 – 1999), Minister of Information & Diaspora Affairs, (2009 –2013) and Minister of Health (2020–2021). He served as speaker of the Knesset from 2013 – 2020.

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If the ruling party goes into the Opposition next week, at least three men will contend to replace Netanyahu as Likud chairman, reports indicate.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Talk of a leadership primary in the Likud is fast gaining steam now that it looks likelier than ever that the ruling party is headed for the Opposition.

If Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid manages to get a majority of the Knesset behind a unity government, at least three top Likud figures have indicated that they will challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the chairmanship of the party after he has sat in the seat for the last 12 years.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein told his confidants that he will probably jump into the leadership race, Zman Yisrael reported Monday. As the No. 2 man in the party, the former longtime Speaker of the Knesset said he believes he has a good chance to win.

Finance Minister Yisrael Katz told party activists Sunday that he had proposed a snap primary following Netanyahu’s latest failure to form a government, according to which the winner would serve as prime minister for a year before stepping aside again for Netanyahu. This would have opened the door to New Hope’s Gidon Sa’ar joining a stable, Likud-led government, as his party is ideologically right-wing but refuses to sit with the current prime minister.

Katz said that he thought he could win that primary, considering his seniority in the party (No. 3) and his past success in heading the transportation, intelligence and foreign ministries, along with his current stint as finance minister. When Netanyahu refused, however, he went back into line, at least temporarily.

Katz also castigated a fellow MK whose actions indicate that he’s thinking big – former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

Barkat is organizing a conference in the Tel Aviv Exhibition Center for Likud activists in some two weeks’ time, titled “Presenting My Vision” for Israel. He has also had staffers calling Likud central committee members and asking them what they think of him and inviting them to share their concerns and priorities for the country.

Katz slammed Barkat Friday for his ambitious undertaking while the political ground has not yet settled, saying, “Never in the history of the Likud has there been such a subversive action against an incumbent prime minister.”

This was not an acceptable way of running for leadership, he added, since the Likud has “accepted rules” as to how and when to challenge an incumbent – which Katz clearly indicated he will do when the time is right.

Barkat jumped into the No. 9 spot in the Likud after leaving office at the end of 2018. He is now in seventh place. Despite his high ranking, he has served only as a backbencher for the last two and a half years. This has been duly noted by the pundits, who attribute his continual lack of a cabinet seat to the fact that he is considered a great threat by more senior contenders for party head.

This view is backed by an April poll for Radio 103 FM, where he came out far ahead of his colleagues. While 23% of Likud voters chose Barkat to theoretically replace Netanyahu, his closest contender, Gilad Erdan, who has held several ministerial posts and is currently Israel’s ambassador to the UN and the US, received only 13% of the vote. Edelstein and Katz came in at seven percent and six percent, respectively.

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For the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus, all restrictions on gatherings will be lifted next Tuesday, Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein announced.

By World Israel News Staff

In view of the low and stable morbidity that has been ongoing for a significant amount of time time, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced Sunday that he will not seek to renew regulations requiring businesses and venues to operate either under the Green Pass or the Purple Standard systems, which are due to expire on May 31.

“Israel is going back to normal,” Edelstein declared. “Less than half a year ago we started the vaccination campaign. Thanks to the excellent work of the health system…and thanks to the amazing mobilization of Israeli citizens, we have carried out the best vaccination campaign in the world.”

In the next two weeks, the country’s health professionals will hold discussions regarding the obligation to wear masks in enclosed spaces. Until a decision is made, the mask will still be required.

In addition, restrictions on entry and exit to Israel will remain intact and, if necessary, even tightened.

“I call on the citizens of Israel not to go to countries with high morbidity and to follow the travel warnings of the Ministry of Health,” Edelstein said. Even in countries deemed safe for travel, “it is important to maintain social distancing. Upon return to Israel – it is the duty to pay extra attention to the guidelines…

“The Health Ministry is working to continue the low morbidity and will continue to comprehensively observe the situation to prevent an outbreak. Of course, if there is an outbreak, we will have to go back.”

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Due to the success of the vaccination campaign, Israelis will no longer be required to wear face masks in open spaces, the Health Ministry announced.

By World Israel News Staff

With the dramatic reduction in morbidity in recent weeks due to the success of Israel’s vaccination campaign against the coronavirus, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein instructed the director general of his office to sign an order that would allow the removal of face masks beginning Sunday.

The decision, announced Thursday evening, was made following the recommendation of health professionals.

According to the Health Ministry, only 196 new cases of coronavirus were recorded on Wednesday. Of the 55,470 tests performed Sunday, 0.4% came back positive.

“The masks are meant to protect us from the coronavirus. After the professionals came to the conclusion that it was no longer needed in the open, I decided to allow the masks to be removed according to their recommendation,” Edelstein stated.

“The morbidity in Israel is very low,” he said. “Together we will keep the morbidity low.”

Masks should still be worn when entering closed buildings, he clarified.

The final order will be signed by the Ministry’s director general, Prof. Hezi Levy, over the weekend.

Schools are also expected to fully reopen next week.

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“We will demand a full-blown lockdown for two weeks. We need to deal one strong blow to morbidity rates and embark on a new path together,” he said.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said that despite the remarkable speed with which Israel is inoculating its population, the number of rising cases means “there’s no avoiding a full-blown lockdown, including closing schools.”

“We will demand a full-blown lockdown for two weeks. We need to deal one strong blow to morbidity rates and embark on a new path together,” he said.

“We’re going through a very severe outbreak and are probably in a more dire situation than we were in at the beginning of September,” Edelstein said.

The current lockdown has been criticized, including by Edelstein, as not being strict enough. On Dec. 31, he said “We are not in a lockdown. We are with restrictions.”

“We wanted a relatively short, full, strong lockdown, precisely because we thought about limiting the economic damage,” he said at the time. “After the government meeting and principally because it passed through Knesset committees we are in a totally different situation.”

Edelstein received backing for a full backdown from a surprising corner – Israel’s small businesses and mall operators. They have been hardest hit by the lockdowns and restrictions since the pandemic began.

Israel Hayom reports that a group of commercial associations met and demanded on Sunday that the government impose a full closure. If not, they’ll open regardless of what the government wants starting on Jan. 10.

“Either a full-closure or opening of business on the 10th of the month and not the day after,” they said.

Shachar Turgeman, chairman of a small business association said, “We are a respectable bunch that represents all trades. We came to this situation because of serious failures by the Israeli government.”

“We tell the Israeli government – do a full Yom Kippur closure, not a fake closure. Because of the government’s policy, 90,000 businesses were destroyed. Half a million workers leave and return from being out of work like a yo-yo. There are tens of thousands of zombies among us, walking dead. No one counts us,” Turgeman said.

“We are ready to close on condition that the Israeli government announces a full closure for 10 days, during which everything will be closed, except for food and pharmacies until 7:00 p.m. This is without blinking and winking at one electorate or another,” he said.

Small businesses have expressed anger in the past at the random and seemingly illogical nature of the closures, where some businesses can operate but not others.

While there has been criticism of lockdowns as ineffective, the Sunday statement by the business groups appears to criticize the half-measures and not lockdowns themselves.

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