Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure ends as Israel’s parliament approves new government

Published

3 years ago

June 13, 2021

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Israel’s parliament has voted in favour of a new government, ending Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year consecutive tenure as premier.

The vote was 60-59.

Earlier, Mr Netanyahu had vowed to lead his Likud Party back to power and “topple this dangerous government and return to lead the country in our way”.

He made clear he had no plans to relinquish leadership of the right-wing Likud party. He will therefore become leader of the opposition.

The new administration, comprising an unprecedented coalition of parties from across the spectrum, won the vote of confidence in the 120-seat Knesset.

The vote ended a record term of 12 consecutive years for the Israel prime minster, as well as a turbulent two years of politics that saw four elections, an economically devastating coronavirus outbreak and an 11-day conflict in Gaza in May.

Ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett, a hi-tech millionaire and Orthodox Jew, is to replace Netanyahu in a power-sharing deal with centrist leader Yair Lapid. Mr Lapid, a former TV host, will take over as PM in 2023 for a further two years.

The new government has pledged to heal a nation bitterly divided over the departure of Mr Netanyahu, the most dominant Israeli politician of his generation.

These divisions were evident as Mr Bennett was heckled by supporters of Mr Netanyahu in a raucous session of parliament.

Addressing the Knesset ahead of the vote, Mr Bennett vowed to fight US efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal, a continuation of Mr Netanyahu’s confrontational policy.

“Israel will not allow Iran to arm itself with nuclear weapons,” he said. “Israel will not be a party to the agreement and will continue to preserve full freedom of action.”

The ruling coalition looks unlike any before in the country’s 73-year history. It contains parties with extreme ideological differences, including for the first time a party that represents Israel’s 21% Arab minority, Raam.

The leaders are expected to steer clear of drastic moves on international issues such as policy on Palestine, focussing instead on domestic reforms.

But the coalition’s fragile majority means that it could collapse even if just one of the eight factions splintered. The groups are united in little more than their opposition to Mr Netanyahu.

Mr Netanyahu, 71, had failed to form a government after an election on 23 March, the fourth in two years. His fate was effectively sealed on 2 June, when eight groups with the 61 seats required for a majority signed an agreement.

His trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust – allegations which he denies – continues.

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Colt Gray: Georgia shooting suspect’s mother ‘called school 30 minutes before’ attack

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2 hours ago

September 9, 2024

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Colt Gray: Georgia shooting suspect's mother 'called school 30 minutes before' attack

The mother of the Georgia shooting suspect called the school 30 minutes warning of an “extreme emergency” before he allegedly opened fire there, his aunt has claimed.

Colt Gray, 14, is accused of shooting dead two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, near Atlanta, on Wednesday.

Another teacher and a further eight students were injured but are expected to make a full recovery, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Annie Brown, the teenager’s aunt, has said her sister called the school counsellor half an hour before gunfire broke out.

She told the Washington Post the boy’s mother warned of an “extreme emergency” involving her son and that they needed to find him “immediately”.

Phone records shared with the newspaper, and later confirmed by the Associated Press, show a 10-minute call was made from the family’s shared phone plan to the school at that time.

Gray appeared in court on Friday when he was charged as an adult with the murders of Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Christian Angulo, 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.

His father Colin Gray, 54, also appeared in court and has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree murder for allowing his son to get hold of a weapon.

Father interviewed over shooting threats last year

Colin Gray was interviewed by police last year over threats his son made on the gaming platform Discord that he might carry out a shooting.

He told officials he had hunting guns locked in a safe in the family home – but his son did not have access to them.

He said the teenager had struggled with his parents’ separation and often got picked on at school.

“He knows the seriousness of weapons and what they can do, and how to use them and not use them,” the boy’s father said, according to a transcript of the interview.

He also mentioned his son becoming “flustered under pressure” and “not really thinking straight”.

“I don’t want him to fight anybody, but they just keep like pinching him and touching him,” he told investigators in May 2023.

But ultimately the case was closed after neither Colt nor Colin Gray were successfully linked to the Discord account the threats were made from.

There were no grounds to confiscate the family’s guns either, according to police reports released by the sheriff’s office.

Colin Gray bought his son an AR-style rifle as a gift after the pair were questioned, law enforcement sources told NBC News.

On Friday a judge ruled that the teenager would not face the death penalty because, as a juvenile, the maximum sentence he can receive is life without parole.

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‘Very dangerous’ British prisoner among five to escape from high-security prison in Portugal

Published

11 hours ago

September 8, 2024

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'Very dangerous' British prisoner among five to escape from high-security prison in Portugal

A “very dangerous” British prisoner is among five inmates who have escaped from a high-security prison in Portugal.

Mark Cameron Roscaleer, 39, had been serving a nine-year sentence for kidnap and robbery at the Vale de Judeus jail, about 43 miles (70km) north of Lisbon.

The five men, aged between 33 and 61, fled on Sunday morning and received “external help” from accomplices who provided a ladder which “allowed the inmates to scale the wall”, according to the Portuguese prison service (DGRSP).

Frederico Morais, president of the National Union of Prison Guards (SNCGP), described Roscaleer as “very dangerous” and advised people that if they see him or the other inmates, they should not to approach them.

He also provided details about the escape: “They managed to jump a net because there are no guards to watch the perimeter… put the ladder against the wall and, from there, with a handmade rope, they climbed over the wall”.

The four other fugitives are:

• Fernando Ferreira, 61, Portuguese, serving 25 years for drug trafficking, theft, robbery, and kidnapping

• Fabio Loureiro, 33, Portuguese, jailed for 25 years for extortion, theft, and money laundering

• Rodolf Lohrmann, 59, Argentinian, sentenced to 18 years and 10 months for theft, robbery, and money laundering

• Shergili Farjiani, 42, originally from Georgia, given a seven-year term for violent crimes theft and forgery

Fugitives are “very dangerous”

According to the Portuguese newspaper, Jornal de Notícias, the group had the help of three accomplices outside the jail and fled the scene in two cars, a Mercedes and a Volvo.

Luis Neves, national director of the Judicial Police, told the paper that, with the exception of Shergili Farjiani, all the prisoners were “very dangerous” and their escape was “very well prepared”.

Hermínio Barradas, president of the Association of Chiefs of the Prison Guards Corps (ASCCGP), also described the group as “well equipped” and “determined” but blamed weaknesses in security.

He said: “There have been no watchtowers for nine years. The cameras filmed everything, but there was no ability to react because of the lack of prison guards.”

According to both the ASCCGP and SNCGP prison unions, there were 20 guards on duty – half of what would normally be expected – to oversee more than 500 inmates.

The Portuguese prison service said in a statement that an internal investigation had been launched.

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Starmer says first Ireland visit as PM a ‘moment for reset’ in relations

Published

1 day ago

September 7, 2024

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Starmer says first Ireland visit as PM a 'moment for reset' in relations

Sir Keir Starmer has described his first official visit to Ireland as a “moment for reset” in relations between the UK and its closest neighbour.

He met Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris at Farmleigh House, the official state guest house, in Dublin on Saturday – becoming the first British prime minister to visit the Republic of Ireland in five years.

It comes after Mr Harris became the first international leader hosted by Sir Keir after he entered Downing Street following Labour’s election victory in July.

During a roundtable in the afternoon, the two leaders discussed the framework for an annual trade and cooperation summit between Ireland and the UK.

They said they had agreed the themes and structure of the first summit in March 2025, to be held every year thereafter.

“There’s a huge amount of bilateral trade between our countries. That was why this is such an important relationship,” Sir Keir said.

“Our economy, our markets, are intertwined and have been for a very long time. So, the foundation upon which we base this reset, I think, is strong.”

The Irish premier described the prime minister’s visit as a “really great honour”, adding that the time they had spent together so far was “really appreciated”.

The two men “both wish to really place British-Irish relations on a new path”, he said.

Sir Keir replied: “It’s a pleasure to be here, to have this opportunity that we will take to renew the friendship between our two countries. That reset, I think, can be meaningful, it can be deep.”

Top of the agenda on his first visit as prime minister was trade across the Irish Sea – a relationship worth €100bn (£84bn) a year that makes up thousands of jobs.

Sir Keir said he is also seeking a “wider EU reset” with other leaders in the bloc, and wants a “closer relationship with the EU”, following on from recent visits to Berlin and Paris.

He talked about the importance of “reducing the friction” between UK and Irish businesses post-Brexit and that of cooperation on defence and security.

The international conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East will likely be discussed too – as protesters against UK arms sales to Israel gathered in Dublin city centre on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the two leaders will have meetings with various Irish businesses over the weekend – including Accenture, Keelings, and Primark, to encourage further trade and investment.

Football shirt swap ahead of Ireland game

Back at Farmleigh House, nine-year-old Freddie Munnelly, who received medical treatment in the UK, presented the two leaders with Irish and English football scarves.

The prime minister was also given an Irish football shirt with his name on it – while the Taoiseach was presented with an England jersey bearing his name.