Herzog begins coalition talks as Eisenkot, Netanyahu vie for mandate to form government

Herzog begins coalition talks as Eisenkot, Netanyahu vie for mandate to form government

Amir Ettinger

President Isaac Herzog began consultations with political parties Wednesday to determine who should be tasked with forming the next government, launching a crucial stage in the coalition-building process after an election that left neither of the leading candidates with a clear parliamentary majority.

Herzog will meet representatives of all parties elected to the 120-seat Knesset through Thursday evening before deciding which candidate has the best chance of assembling a governing coalition.

Under Israel's parliamentary system, the president consults party leaders following an election and assigns the task of forming a government to the lawmaker considered most likely to secure the support of a parliamentary majority. The mandate does not automatically go to the leader of the largest party or the candidate receiving the most recommendations.

Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the centrist Yashar! party, is currently expected to receive recommendations from 48 lawmakers representing Yashar!, Beyachad, the Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads the Likud party, is projected to receive 46 recommendations from Likud, the far-right Otzma Yehudit and the Religious Zionist parties and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.

The Joint List, the Islamist Ra'am party and the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party have yet to announce whom they will recommend.

The outstanding recommendations could prove decisive in determining which candidate receives the 

mandate. Neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu currently has the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary 

majority, raising the prospect of difficult coalition negotiations.

In a departure from previous consultation rounds, Herzog began Wednesday's meetings with smaller 

parliamentary factions and will conclude Thursday evening with the largest parties.

The talks began against the backdrop of an increasingly contentious investigation into suspected foreign 

interference in the election, including allegations involving the Palestinian Authority and senior Arab 

political figures.

Religious Zionist Party representatives confirmed at the start of their meeting that they would 

recommend Netanyahu for prime minister.

Orit Strock, a senior figure in the party, expressed concern over allegations being investigated by the 

Shin Bet domestic security agency and police, calling for a thorough investigation without restrictions.

"We are concerned about the suspicions being investigated by the Shin Bet and the police, and we call 

for the investigation to be fully pursued without obstacles," Strock said.

She also argued that Arab nationalist parties should not be considered legitimate partners in forming a government or removing the Knesset speaker.

Strock insisted her objection was not based on the parties' Arab identity but on what she described as their nationalist ideology and attitudes toward Israel's establishment.

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The Elections Are Over - But The Real Problem Was Never On The Ballot

The Elections Are Over - But The Real Problem Was Never On The Ballot

PNW STAFF

The votes have been cast. The celebrations have begun for some, while others are staring at election results wondering what happened to the country they thought they knew.

For many Christians, the frustration runs deeper than which political party won or lost. It is the realization that candidates and proposals representing values they believe contradict Scripture continue to find support among millions of Americans. Ideas once considered radical are increasingly treated as mainstream, while traditional biblical convictions are often dismissed as outdated, intolerant, or even dangerous.

Elections can change who governs a nation. They can change laws, policies, and the direction of government. But they cannot, by themselves, change the human heart.

And that may be the most important lesson Christians need to remember when the ballots have been counted.

Christians must distinguish between losing a political battle and losing the spiritual war.

God has not surrendered His throne because voters made decisions we disagree with.

Perhaps the most uncomfortable lesson from modern American elections is that the political landscape increasingly reflects a much deeper cultural and spiritual struggle.

Christians sometimes express disbelief when voters embrace policies they believe undermine biblical morality, redefine marriage and family, or elevate government solutions above personal responsibility.

But why should we expect a society increasingly disconnected from Scripture to consistently make decisions based upon Scripture?

For decades, biblical literacy has weakened, church participation has declined, and younger generations have grown up in an environment where traditional Christian beliefs are frequently challenged.

Many Americans no longer share the basic moral assumptions that once influenced public life. Even the meaning of words such as truth, freedom, justice, and morality has become a source of disagreement.

If Americans no longer believe that God's Word provides an objective moral standard, why would we expect them to vote as though it does?

If children are raised without a biblical understanding of human identity, marriage, sexuality, or the sanctity of life, why should we be shocked when they eventually embrace competing ideas?

The answer cannot simply be better campaign advertisements, more political donations, or louder arguments on social media.

The Church must recover its confidence in teaching biblical truth clearly, consistently, and without apology.

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There Is Only One ‘Preparedness Plan’:

There Is Only One ‘Preparedness Plan’

Jan Markell

I’m sure you’ve seen all the headlines and the news alerts: “Be prepared,” “An emergency is coming,” “Make a plan.” We are being told a global crisis is coming—and not just one in your hometown. I’ve read two dozen doomsday scenarios where we are to stock up on food, medicine, have a strategy to meet up with family and friends if separated, and much more because something “big” is coming.

I have read the reports… but I’m sounding an even bigger warning.

If you are a believer in Jesus, you are Biblically called to be prepared for a life-changing event on the horizon: a sudden, any-moment rapture of the church as we are taken for seven years to our heavenly home.

It will transform the world and transform lives—some for good, and for others who do not know Jesus Christ, it will unleash seven years of hell on earth.

Are you watching the warning signs before us? Have you heard of the term “convergence”? While the rapture is signless, there are end-time trends that the Bible tells us to watch out for, pointing to the nearness of Jesus’ second coming, and they are converging like never before. The rapture precedes that event by seven years. If we’re witnessing signs for the second coming converging today, it is a blaring indication that the rapture is at the door!

As believers, our focus should be on eternal preparedness more than earthly preparedness. Let’s get as many as we can into that modern-day Noah’s Ark, and let’s rescue as many as possible. Time is running out. The theme of the Bible for the rapture is “perhaps today.” That’s my preparedness warning.

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US prepared to strike Iran as early as Wednesday as Israel faces election chaos, diplomatic crisis

US prepared to strike Iran as early as Wednesday as Israel faces election chaos, diplomatic crisis

Itamar Eichner

As polls close across the United States in Tuesday's midterm elections, the countdown to a possible renewed war with Iran is beginning again. President Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled that he would not resume military action before the vote, but the U.S. military has spent the intervening months reinforcing its presence in the Middle East, preparing attack plans and positioning forces for a possible return to combat.

According to a report published Tuesday by The New York Times, U.S. Central Command has prepared plans that could allow American forces to strike Iran as early as Wednesday, immediately after the elections, with three aircraft carriers deployed in the region. The existence of those plans does not mean Trump has decided to attack. Diplomats are still trying to reach an agreement with Tehran, and the president has previously called off operations that appeared close to being launched.

But if negotiations collapse, the next confrontation could erupt at an exceptionally sensitive moment for both Washington and Jerusalem. Trump is awaiting an election that could weaken his standing in Congress, while Israel is struggling to form a government following an inconclusive election, confronting allegations of foreign interference in the vote and absorbing Trump's unexpected announcement that American military assistance will end.

The American military buildup has accelerated in recent weeks, with additional refueling aircraft, cargo planes and surveillance assets arriving in the region. The combination of operational preparations and ongoing diplomatic negotiations closely resembles the period preceding the previous round of fighting with Iran.

Trump has recently emphasized that Iran does not want nuclear weapons and would prefer an agreement. Reports have suggested some movement in negotiations, but no breakthrough capable of resolving the dispute. For now, the president retains the option of ordering strikes or continuing to pursue a diplomatic settlement.

The political environment in Washington could become more difficult if when Democrats gain control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Even with Republicans controlling Congress, Trump has struggled to secure broad support for the war. In June, four Republican senators joined a vote calling for an end to the fighting.

Democratic lawmakers have promised to challenge any renewed military campaign, but their ability to intervene would face significant limitations. The newly elected Congress will not take office until January 3, leaving Trump several weeks to act under the current congressional balance of power. The president also retains substantial authority over military operations and foreign policy, making it difficult for lawmakers to halt fighting once it begins.

Israel also is preparing for the possibility of renewed hostilities. The IDF is maintaining what military officials have described as maximum readiness for both defensive and offensive operations, while Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir continues security consultations. According to reports, Zamir opposed launching an operation before the U.S. elections.

Netanyahu has not convened the security Cabinet or the full government over the latest developments and has not appeared publicly since Israel's elections last week.

Beginning Wednesday, representatives of the parties elected to the 26th Knesset will meet President Isaac Herzog to recommend who should be entrusted with forming the next government. Yashar! chairman Gadi Eisenkot is expected to receive more recommendations than Netanyahu, although his political bloc has yet to explain how it intends to establish a government without the support of Arab parties or United Torah Judaism.

Opposition leaders have nevertheless said they intend to use their parliamentary strength to advance measures even before a new government is formed. These include replacing Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, appointing a new state comptroller and repealing legislation they describe as anti-democratic.

A renewed war is not expected to halt the consultations at the President's Residence. Officials are preparing alternative secure locations if necessary, while the Knesset has previously continued operating under emergency arrangements during wartime. Political efforts to change the balance of power could therefore proceed even as the military confrontation unfolds.

Complicating matters further is an intensifying dispute over allegations of foreign interference in Israel's elections. Shin Bet chief David Zini is reportedly at odds with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara over the powers investigators should be permitted to use when examining suspicions that money from Qatar and Turkey financed improper attempts to influence voters.

According to reports, Zini has sought authorization to question senior Arab political figures, including Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas, Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh and Ta'al leader Ahmad Tibi, along with another senior Arab lawmaker whose name cannot be published. Baharav-Miara has insisted that investigators present evidence establishing the grounds for such questioning before granting approval.

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The Islamic State Threat Against Israel Is Growing — and Much of It Has Gone Unnoticed

The Islamic State Threat Against Israel Is Growing — and Much of It Has Gone Unnoticed

by Ailin Vilches Arguello

While Israel has focused much of its security attention on Iran and its regional proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic State (IS) has quietly intensified its campaign against the Jewish state, mounting an unprecedented wave of plots and attempted attacks that has largely escaped international attention.

According to a database compiled by Aaron Zelin, a senior research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Israeli security forces have disrupted more plots by the jihadist terror group since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, than during the entire nine-and-a-half years preceding it.

Between 2014 and 2023, Israeli forces conducted 50 IS-related arrest operations, compared with 46 in the period since the Oct. 7 atrocities, marking a significant surge in the group’s attempted attacks and operational activity.

Even though IS has been more active against Israel over the past three years than ever before, experts warn that its growing threat has been largely overlooked, with government officials concentrating their attention on Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” amid escalating regional tensions.

In his report for MBN Magazine, Zelin explains that IS’s plots have grown increasingly sophisticated, evolving from mostly involving individuals seeking to join the group’s ranks in Syria or disseminating propaganda online to more direct, coordinated, and ambitious efforts to plan and execute attacks.

Before the start of the war in Gaza, just 18 of the documented operations involved suspected attack plots, compared with 28 of the 46 operations recorded since Oct. 7, 2023, reflecting a shift toward planning and preparing attacks on Israeli soil rather than focusing primarily on online radicalization and recruitment.

“Few people have noticed this uptick in activity because almost none of these plots succeeded, which reflects Israeli intelligence successes more than IS restraint,” Zelin writes. “Nor are these plots simply the work of isolated sympathizers. A significant share can be traced back to IS networks abroad, especially in Syria.”

Last year, Israeli intelligence officials warned of a rising threat level linked to IS activity inside Israeli territory following the outbreak of the war, signaling that the group was becoming an increasingly serious security concern even as Israel grappled with threats on multiple fronts.

In one of several thwarted terror plots, Israeli security forces arrested two young men in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud after uncovering a plot to pack a truck with gas canisters and blow it up near the Israeli parliament.

In another foiled attack, Israeli authorities uncovered a four-member cell near Hebron, in the southern West Bank, whose leader was in contact with IS operatives abroad and whose members had assembled approximately 100 explosive devices to target Israeli soldiers.

“By stopping these plots, Israel’s security services have kept IS’s campaign largely invisible. That success should not be mistaken for the absence of a threat,” Zelin argues.

The new report notes that approximately two-thirds of the cases recorded since the Oct. 7 massacre involved Arab citizens of Israel rather than Palestinians from the West Bank or East Jerusalem, with at least nine cases involving minors, including a child as young as 14.

As the regional security landscape grows increasingly volatile, Zelin explains that IS’s leadership has sought to capitalize on the escalating tensions to advance its campaign of violence, calling for attacks against Jewish communities, synagogues, and Israeli embassies worldwide while urging Palestinians to abandon Hamas and join the group instead.

For example, IS spokesman Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari previously called on Palestinians to turn against Hamas and fight “the Jews because they are Jews,” while encouraging supporters to kill Jews and Christians “in the streets and alleyways” of the West.

Following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire last year, Zelin notes that IS has sought to present itself as a small but uncompromising force leading the “coming religious wars,” while telling Palestinians that jihad, rather than the “path of national liberation,” represents their only salvation.

“With Hamas bound by a truce, IS has sought to present itself as the group still committed to fighting Israel,” Zelin writes.

He also points to several prominent pro-IS voices who reportedly urged their followers in Gaza to stay out of Hamas’s confrontation with Israel and instead stockpile weapons, establish cells, and pledge allegiance to IS when a broader regional war erupted.

With infiltration into Israel posing significant challenges, the report explains, IS has increasingly turned to recruits already inside the country, relying on overseas operatives to provide the instructions, contacts, and logistical support needed to plan attacks.

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