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Israel’s new government begins, Netanyahu era ends

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(Last Updated On: June 14, 2021)

The first Israeli government in 12 years not led by Benjamin Netanyahu got down to business on Monday, with the former prime minister shying away from a handover ceremony with successor Naftali Bennett.

The right-wing leader’s record run in office ended on Sunday with parliament approving, by a razor-thin majority of 60-59, a new administration led by Bennett, a nationalist whose views mirror Netanyahu’s on many issues.

In Tel Aviv, thousands turned out to welcome the result, after four inconclusive elections in two years.

“I am here celebrating the end of an era in Israel,” said Erez Biezuner in Rabin Square.

“We want them to succeed and to unite us again,” he added, as flag-waving supporters of the new government sang and danced around him.

A combative Netanyahu, 71, said he would be back sooner than expected.

“If we are destined to go into the opposition, we will do so with our heads held high until we can topple it,” he told parliament before Bennett was sworn in.

The traditional handover ceremony was not scheduled at the prime minister’s office, where Netanyahu was expected to meet Bennett later on Monday to brief him on state matters.

The last time Netanyahu was unseated as Israel‘s leader, in 1999, he ended his first term in office with a glass of wine in his hand and affable words of welcome to then-Labour party leader Ehud Barak, who defeated him at the polls.

 

“Sour, grumpy, not stately – Trump-like until the final moment,” Yossi Verter, a political affairs commentator, wrote in the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper.

Asked why there would be no such scene now, Topaz Luk, a senior aide to Netanyahu, told Army Radio: “That’s just what happens.”

Netanyahu, he said, was “filled with motivation to topple this dangerous government as quickly as possible”. Luk declined to disclose Netanyahu’s comeback strategy, pointing only to the new administration’s slim margin of support in parliament.

Luk said the incoming government was receiving briefings from Netanyahu’s diplomatic and security advisers to ensure an orderly handover.

After holding its first meeting late on Sunday, Bennett’s new cabinet was invited for a traditional group photograph, showcasing incoming governments, at the official residence of President Reuven Rivlin.

With little in common other than a desire to unseat Netanyahu, the patchwork coalition of right-wing, centrist, left-wing and Arab parties largely plans to avoid sweeping moves on hot-button issues such as policy towards the Palestinians, and to focus instead on domestic reforms.

Palestinians were unmoved by the change of administration, predicting that Bennett, a former defence chief who advocates annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, would pursue the same right-wing agenda as Netanyahu.

Under the coalition deal, Bennett, a 49-year-old Orthodox Jew and high-tech millionaire, will be replaced as prime minister in 2023 by centrist Yair Lapid, 57, a popular former television host.

U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated Bennett and Lapid, saying he looked forward to strengthening the “close and enduring” relationship between the two countries.

Addressing parliament on Sunday, Bennett put Biden on notice that he would follow in Netanyahu’s footsteps in opposing any U.S. return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal abrogated by former President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu was Israel‘s longest-serving leader, and had served consecutive terms as prime minister since 2009.

He used his global stature to resist calls for Palestinian statehood, describing it as a danger to Israel‘s security. He sought to bypass the Palestinian issue by forging diplomatic deals with regional Arab states, on the back of shared fears of Iran and its nuclear programme.

But he was a divisive figure at home and abroad, weakened by repeated failure to clinch a decisive election victory, and by a corruption trial in which he has denied any wrongdoing.

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IEA’s foreign ministry summons Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over airstrike

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2024)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over Islamabad’s airstrike inside Afghanistan in the early hours of Monday morning.

The ministry presented the charge d’affaires with a letter of protest and advised the new civilian government to curb anti-Afghanistan actions and to not ‘complicate’ relations between the two Muslim countries.

The ministry also condemned the airstrikes, in Paktika and Khost, and warned Islamabad it has a long history of fighting foreign powers and that it will not tolerate military action on its territory.

The ministry said in a statement that Pakistan’s new civilian government and the people of Pakistan should not allow some circles to complicate the relations between the two neighboring Muslim countries.

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Bayat Foundation steps in to help needy families over Ramadan

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2024)

Dozens of needy families in Herat province received much needed Ramadan aid packages on Monday from Bayat Foundation.

According to Bayat Foundation officials, a transparent assessment was carried out on people in need before the aid was distributed.

The packages included flour, rice and cooking oil. The foundation will carry this initiative through to other provinces during the holy month of Ramadan.

Officials said poverty and unemployment in the country has resulted in more people needing assistance.

Recipients of this aid welcomed the initiative and called on other organizations to also help the needy.

Over the past 20 years, the Bayat Foundation has carried out countless campaigns to help the needy across the country. The foundation is also actively involved in education and health – with the aim of helping the needy in Afghanistan.

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Border forces target military posts along Durand Line in response to airstrikes

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2024)

The Ministry of National Defense of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said Monday morning that border forces targeted Pakistan “military centers” along the Durand Line in response to airstrikes against civilian homes in Paktika and Khost provinces.

In the early hours of Monday morning, Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, hitting residential houses in Spera district in Khost and Bermel district in Paktika.

At least eight people were killed – five women and three children.

Inayatullah Khwarazmi, the defense ministry’s spokesperson said on X: “In response to this aggression, the border forces targeted Pakistan’s military centers along the Durand line with heavy weapons.”

Khwarazmi added that the country’s defense and security forces are ready to respond to any aggressive actions and will defend their territorial integrity.

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