A7News: Coalition consultations to begin next week

Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Wednesday, Apr. 10 '19, ה' בניסן תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. COALITION CONSULTATIONS TO BEGIN NEXT WEEK
2. FEMALE TERRORIST ATTACKS BUS SECURITY GUARD
3. 5-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER TRAFFIC ACCIDENT
4. PRAYER NOTES REMOVED FROM WESTERN WALL
5. AFTER NETANYAHU DECLARES VICTORY, GANTZ SAYS RESULTS NOT FINAL
6. LIKUD - 35, BLUE AND WHITE - 35
7. NETANYAHU FIRST RESPONSE: RIGHT BLOC WON CLEAR VICTORY
8. SHAKED: BIBI IS DRAINING OUR VOTES


1. COALITION CONSULTATIONS TO BEGIN NEXT WEEK
by Hezki Baruch

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin visited the Knesset Wednesday, as the ballot count continues following Tuesday's general election.

On behalf of the citizens of Israel, the president thanked all those working to count the votes and to the members of the committee who have worked tirelessly over the last few months to ensure free and fair elections, saying: "you are the most professional and dedicated expression of how democracy works in Israel. Thanks to each one of you, we can be absolutely confident that the will of the people is given its most accurate expression, and that the right of the people to fair elections and accurate and verified information is upheld. Thank you all for your wonderful work. I hope that soon you will be able to return to your normal daily lives, until the next time."

During his visit, President Rivlin met with the chairman of the Israeli Elections Committee, Justice Hanan Melcer. The two discussed the election results and the formation of a new government.

President Rivlin and Melcer agreed that the president would begin consultations with party leaders next week, to determine which candidate to task with forming the next coalition government.

Party leaders will meet with the president at his official state residence next week, though no final date for the consultations has been set. The president is expected to reach an agreement with Melcer regarding the exact timing of the consultations.

Following Israeli Knesset elections, the president must assign the task of forming the next government to the candidate he or she believes will be most likely to be able to form a majority coalition of at least 61 MKs.

The president typically meets with party leaders for consultations, receiving their recommendations for the premiership. If one candidate reaches the necessary 61 MKs, the president offers that candidate the opportunity to form the next government.

Once the president has done this, the chosen candidate has 28 days, according to Basic Law: The Government, to form a new government for Israel. If required, the president is able to give an extension of up to an additional 14 days.

The Likud and Blue and White are both projected to win 35 seats, yet the Likud is widely expected to form the next government, given the 10-seat advantage projected for the right-wing – religious bloc, which is likely to win 65 seats.

In a first, President Rivlin's consultations with party leaders are slated to be broadcast live. Rivlin's office announced that the meetings will be live streamed on a number of platforms, in the name of transparency.


2. FEMALE TERRORIST ATTACKS BUS SECURITY GUARD
by Arutz Sheva Staff

An Arab woman from Tulkarm, armed with a knife, attacked a security guard who was checking the bus she traveled on Wednesday afternoon at A-Za'ayyim checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim.

No one was hurt. Security forces carried out protocol for apprehending a suspect, including shooting in the air. The terrorist was arrested and taken for questioning by the Shin Bet.

Earlier today, an Israeli civilian was injured by a hammer thrown at his vehicle near the village of Tekoa in Gush Etzion.

He was evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment. IDF soldiers are searching the area for suspects.


3. 5-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER TRAFFIC ACCIDENT
by Arutz Sheva Staff

A five-year-old girl is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle in the town of Elad Wednesday afternoon.

She was struck while riding a bicycle.

Paramedics from United Hatzalah and Magen David Adom arrived at the scene and evacuated the girl to Beilinson Hospital while performing resuscitation efforts.

"This is a very serious accident," said Magen David Adom paramedic Dror Mori. "The girl who was hit by the commercial vehicle. [When we arrived] she was unconscious with a serious head injury. We gave her initial medical treatment in the area and she was quickly transferred to an MDA intensive care unit that arrived at the scene and evacuated her urgently to the hospital while carrying out CPR operations when her condition was critical."


4. PRAYER NOTES REMOVED FROM WESTERN WALL
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Employees from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation removed prayer notes from the Western Wall on Wednesday. The notes had been left between the stones an in the cracks of the 2,000-year-old Herodian structure over the last six months.

Every year millions of notes are placed in the wall by Jewish and non-Jewish worshipers, together with notes sent through the website of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, as well as by fax and mail.

To date, 672,210 notes have been sent to the Western Wall through the website of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation alone.

The notes were removed under the supervision of the rabbi of the Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, using wooden tools as opposed to metal due to the sanctity of the stones.

In order to preserve the privacy and dignity of the worshipers, the notes were kept in a blocked-off area until the collection was completed, and all the notes were placed in sealed bags. The notes will be buried.

At the conclusion of the work, the Rabbi of the Western Wall prayed that all requests written on the notes be answered.


5. AFTER NETANYAHU DECLARES VICTORY, GANTZ SAYS RESULTS NOT FINAL
by David Rosenberg

Blue and White party chairman and former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz expressed satisfaction Wednesday morning with the outcome of Tuesday's election, and optimism that despite initial results showing a victory for the right-wing bloc, his center-left faction would ultimately prevail in the final count and be tasked with forming the next government.

"Good morning friends, and yes, it is a good morning!" Gantz wrote to supporters on social media.

"The numbers being reported are not the final story. While it looks like the forecast is bleak, it does not factor in two things: 1) None of this is final, and it is possible that there will be electoral moves, possibly opening up various political moves. 2) There is definitely nothing in the [initial results] which can hide the shining sun of hope which we gave to the people in Israel. They, are voters, asked for hope, and we gave it to them."

Gantz went on to call the Blue and White's projected 35 mandates a "historic achievement".

With 97% of the vote counted, Netanyahu's Likud party leads Blue and White by some 14,000 votes, with 26.27% of the vote, to Blue and White's 25.94%.

Both parties are currently projected to win 35 seats, though the Likud is favored to reach the 61 seats necessary to form a government. The right-wing – religious bloc is currently projected to win 65 seats, compared to 55 seats for the left-wing – Arab bloc.

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261653


6. LIKUD - 35, BLUE AND WHITE - 35
by Arutz Sheva Staff

2019 elections results: After about 97% of the votes have been counted, this is the distribution of seats:

Likud - 35

Blue and White - 35

Shas - 8

United Torah Judaism - 8

Labor - 6

Hadash-Ta'al - 6

Union of Right-Wing Parties – 5

Yisrael Beytenu - 5

Kulanu - 4

Meretz - 4

Ra'am-Balad - 4

New Right - 0

Zehut - 0

Gesher - 0

Based on these results, the right-wing bloc wins 65 Knesset seats, while the left-wing bloc wins only 55 seats.


7. NETANYAHU FIRST RESPONSE: RIGHT BLOC WON CLEAR VICTORY
by Mordechai Sones

Blue/White: 37; Likud: 33; Ra'am: 6; Hadash/Ta'al: 6; Labor: 6; Meretz: 5; Shas: 6; Aguda: 7; Right Union: 5; Kahlon: 4; Liberman: 5. Gesher, New Right, Zehut out.

Final results will only arrive tomorrow. However, this did not stop Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid from already declaring victory, issuing a joint statement saying, "We won! The Israeli public has had their say! Thank you to the thousands of activists and over a million voters. These elections have a clear winner and a clear loser. Netanyahu promised 40 seats and lost. The President can see the picture and should call on the winner to form the next government. There is no other option!"

New Right Chairman Naftali Bennett issued a statement saying "Friends, don't let your spirit fall. Leadership is tested in difficult moments. We have patience, faith, and nerves of steel.

"The New Right will pass, and it will pass well. We're certain of the justice of our path.

"Ayelet and I say to all our supporters: You're the most amazing team there is! Soon we'll be down to meet our wonderful supporters."

One report said only 600 votes are missing for Bennett to pass the threshold.

Prime Minister Netanyahu in his first response said: "The right-wing bloc led by the Likud won a clear victory, and I thank the citizens of Israel for their trust."

Prime Minister Netanyahu has already talked to party leaders about entering the coalition, his people said.

Shas HQ celebrations
Flash 90
Blue and White HQ celebrations
Flash 90



8. SHAKED: BIBI IS DRAINING OUR VOTES
by Arutz Sheva Staff

New Right party co-chairwoman Ayelet Shaked issued an appeal to right-wing voters to turn out for her party in the final five hours of the election Tuesday afternoon.

In a video address, Shaked addressed her "friends in religious Zionism," saying that "we are in a bad situation. Bibi is drinking us with a straw as if he is not already the prime minister, and Rabbi Peretz is also draining us. This is working too well."

"We are going to have a rerun of the disaster of 2015, when we had a dramatic decline. I need your help to vote for the New Right Netanyahu will be prime minister with no issue, and Smotrich is in excellent shape. We are the only ones in decline," she said.

"I personally ask you to vote for me, the New Right, or I will just not be the justice minister tomorrow, I ask that whoever planned to split votes, part for us and part for Netanyahu will concentrate all the votes back on us. It's really important!

"We cannot just wake up at 8 at night. These are the most critical hours right now! Believe in me, and don't disappoint me!" she concluded.

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261614