In his statement, Netanyahu warned of external threats facing Israel, from Iran’s race for nuclear weapons to “other deadly weapons that are piling up around us,” and tied them to the failure of ongoing coalition talks.
“While they [Israel's enemies] are rallying and uniting their efforts we need to rally and unite our powers to deflect those threats,” Netanyahu said. “To my regret, that isn’t happening.”
The prime minister added that he will continue to try, in the coming days, to “unite and rally our forces in preparation for the great national and international tasks they are facing.”
Netanyahu was scheduled to meet again with representatives from the Jewish Home and Shas parties on Sunday to try to hammer out an agreement that will see both factions join the government.
Iran intends to continue enriching nuclear material for an atomic bomb and is successfully using talks with world powers to stall for time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Netanyahu said he was informed of the outcome of the talks, held inKazakhstan last Wednesday, by National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror, who was briefed by US under secretary of state for political affairs and the top American negotiator with Iran over its nuclear program, Wendy Sherman, when she was in Israel last week.
The talks ended with the powers offering to ease some sanctions placed on Iran in order to keep open diplomatic channels, but did not achieve a commitment from Iran to end its nuclear program or allow itself to be monitored by international officials.
Israeli President Shimon Peres on Saturday gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a two-week extension to form a new coalition government, after he failed to do so in an initial four-week period.
"I am giving you another two weeks, by law, to complete the task of forming the government," Peres told Netanyahu during a televised statement at the presidential residence.
"I am giving you another two weeks, by law, to complete the task of forming the government," Peres told Netanyahu during a televised statement at the presidential residence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed coalition negotiations Sunday, meeting with Shas’s leaders after a Saturday night exchange of recriminations with Jewish Home’s Naftali Bennett.
In the meeting with Shas heads Eli Yishai, Aryeh Deri and Ariel Attias, Netanyahu said he’d like to see the ultra-Orthodox party join the coalition, but that “political complications” were standing in his way.
Netanyahu received on Saturday a 14-day extension to form a government from President Shimon Peres. The prime minister now has until March 16 to form a governing coalition, or see the task assigned to a rival politician or face new elections.
Netanyahu’s efforts to cobble together a stable coalition have been immensely complicated by the alliance between the Jewish Home and Yesh Atid parties, which are working together to demand new legislation to draft most ultra-Orthodox young men. The ultra-Orthodox parties are opposed to a drastic change, and Netanyahu has thus far been unable to resolve this and other differences between his potential coalition parties.
As of Sunday morning, with his various potential coalition partners deeply at odds, Netanyahu had signed up only Hatnua and its six seats to his coalition, and the differences between the other parties appeared very hard to reconcile. But were Netanyahu to decide to exclude the ultra-Orthodox parties, however reluctantly, his Likud-Beytenu party (31 seats) could expect to finalize coalition terms with Yesh Atid (19 seats) and Jewish Home (12 seats) fairly rapidly, and thus gain a governing majority.
Alternatively, he could try again to pressure Labor’s Shelly Yachimovich to join a coalition without Jewish Home and Yesh Atid, but with the two ultra-Orthodox parties. Yachimovich has met several times with Netanyahu, but emerged each time to restate that their political differences are too wide to bridge.
Iran is adding thousands of advancedcentrifuges to further enrich uranium into nuclear fuel, Tehran's state-run media reported Sunday. Some 3,000 centrifuges are being built, according to the report, which said the equipment is being installed at the Natanz nuclear plant.
This is the first time officials have announced details about the number of machines being installed at the plant, although plans for the equipment had been made publicearlier in the year.
This is the first time officials have announced details about the number of machines being installed at the plant, although plans for the equipment had been made publicearlier in the year.
Nearly two weeks ago, the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned the Islamic Republic had begun the process of installing the advancedequipment at Natanz.
At the time, the U.S. warned that if the information was confirmed, it would be considered “another provocative step.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Sunday at the weekly government cabinet meeting that as international talks over Iran’s nuclear development activities dragged on recently, “the only thing that was achieved was to stall for time during which Iran intends to continue enriching nuclear material for an atomic bomb, and it is indeed continuing toward this goal.”
At the time, the U.S. warned that if the information was confirmed, it would be considered “another provocative step.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned Sunday at the weekly government cabinet meeting that as international talks over Iran’s nuclear development activities dragged on recently, “the only thing that was achieved was to stall for time during which Iran intends to continue enriching nuclear material for an atomic bomb, and it is indeed continuing toward this goal.”
Iran is building about 3,000 advanced uranium-enrichment centrifuges, Iranian media reported on Sunday, in a development likely to add to Western concerns about the Islamic state's disputed nuclear program.
Iran announced earlier this year that it would install the new-generation centrifuges at its Natanz uranium enrichment plant, but Sunday's reports in Iranian agencies appeared to be the first time a specific figure had been given.
"The final production line of these centrifuges has reached an end and soon the early generations of these centrifuges with low efficiency will be set aside," Abbasi-Davani said, according to the Fars news agency.
Assad spoke to the newspaper as his country’s civil war nears its two-year anniversary, with 70,000 reported killed and nearly a million displaced by the fighting. Looking calm, and speaking in English, the leader called for rebels to drop their weapons and engage in national dialogue, echoing a call from last month that may have signaled growing desperation by the besieged regime.
Speaking about a reported Israeli airstrike in January on Syrian soil, which had allegedly damaged a chemical weapons site, Assad vowed to hit back as he said his country always had, though he said it might not be an overt counterattack.
Three mortar shells exploded Saturday afternoon in the southernGolan Heights, near Ramot Magshimim. No one was hurt and no damage was caused.
The defense establishment believes that the shells were stray ones, which were fired in the course of the civil war in Syria, on the other side of the border.
Israel filed a complaint to the UN force that is stationed on the border with Syria.
Three days ago, a mortar shell fell near Alonei Habashan, which is only 700 metersaway from the border, without exploding. In early November, a mortar shell struck inside Alonei Habashan, and caused no casualties or damage.
Three Iron Dome batteries were stationed in northern Israel in the course of the last month, to defend against a possible enemy attack.
The defense establishment believes that the shells were stray ones, which were fired in the course of the civil war in Syria, on the other side of the border.
Israel filed a complaint to the UN force that is stationed on the border with Syria.
Three days ago, a mortar shell fell near Alonei Habashan, which is only 700 metersaway from the border, without exploding. In early November, a mortar shell struck inside Alonei Habashan, and caused no casualties or damage.
Three Iron Dome batteries were stationed in northern Israel in the course of the last month, to defend against a possible enemy attack.
For the first since the end of the IDF’s Pillar of Defense counterterrorism operation, Gaza-based terrorists opened fire on Friday afternoon towards the Shaar Hanegev region in southern Israel.
No one was hurt but a military vehicle belonging to a commander of the IDF’s Gaza Division sustained damage.
While Friday’s incident was the first time since November that shots were fired from Gaza towards Israel, it marks the second time in less than a week that Gaza terrorists have violated the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement with Israel that was reached at the end of Operation Pillar of Defense.
On Tuesday morning, Gaza terrorists fired rockets towards southern Israel. One rocket hit the city of Ashkelon, but did not cause injury. A second rocket apparently hit an open field near the city.
No one was hurt but a military vehicle belonging to a commander of the IDF’s Gaza Division sustained damage.
While Friday’s incident was the first time since November that shots were fired from Gaza towards Israel, it marks the second time in less than a week that Gaza terrorists have violated the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement with Israel that was reached at the end of Operation Pillar of Defense.
On Tuesday morning, Gaza terrorists fired rockets towards southern Israel. One rocket hit the city of Ashkelon, but did not cause injury. A second rocket apparently hit an open field near the city.
For almost four decades, the Israeli-Syrian border has been Israel’s quietest border, a Jewish publication recently noted. Now, however, tensions are mounting rapidly and the prospect of a serious conflagration there is growing steadily.
“Bashar Assad vowed that Syria would retaliate against Israel for an airstrike on a weapons convoy in the Damascus area last month, which foreign news outlets attributed to the IDF,” reports Ynet News.
But the trendlines in the Middle East look ominous at the moment.
- Netanyahu is urging Israeli political leaders to unite and form a new, broad-based coalition government in light of the very serious threats posed by Iran and Syria.
- Iran is accelerating its efforts to enrich uranium — and make plutonium — to build nuclear warheads.
- Syria is imploding and Israeli officials are preparing for the possibility of hostilities on their northeastern border.
- After a five month hiatus, an Israeli preemptive strike is once again being contemplated in Jerusalem.
- President Obama is preparing for a possible trip to Israel and the Middle East to keep a war from happening.
- But in Damascus, the Syrian President is warning that despite the implosion of his country, he is considering turning his military’s focus on Israel.
- What’s more, Assad refuses to say what he is doing with his country’s stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.
2 comments:
Joel Rosenberg's blog was pretty interesting with the bullet points of all that is occurring in Israel with their enemies. The pressure cooker continues to build.
I'm wondering if Bibi's warning was political to forge a coalition or or a veiled warning of the war to come?
Yea, he already has another one up too. I was actually having those exact same thoughts as far as Bibi and what he is up to. We're down to two weeks, and these next two weeks could actually be a more vital/important part of our prophecy watching as anything else. If there are new elections, then everything could change. If a coalition is formed - that outcome is also going to have great importance in what happens over the coming months - particularly as far as Iran is concerned.
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