Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog on Sunday officially instructed right-wing leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Netanyahu arrived at the Duke’s official residence on Sunday, where the official handover ceremony took place.
Now Netanyahu has 28 days to form a new government in the country. If he fails to complete the task on time, he may ask for an additional 14 days. If he fails to meet the extra time, then the president can transfer the mandate to another candidate.
However, with a high probability, Netanyahu will be able to achieve the approval of parliamentarians – there are 120 seats in the Knesset, among them the bloc of right-wing and religious parties has 64 mandates. The approval of 61 deputies is required for the Knesset to approve the composition of the government. Just 64 deputies recommended President Herzog to give a mandate to Netanyahu, and not to another candidate.
The fact that the mandate will receive Netanyahu, it became known earlier this week. He was in opposition for about a year and a half, but in the November 1 elections, his Likud party won the majority of votes, and together with other right-wing parties, he managed to win an advantage over the left that came to power in the previous elections.
The opposition Likud party and its partners in Israel’s right-wing bloc may win a parliamentary majority in Israel’s parliamentary elections, The Jerusalem Post reports, citing polling results at the exit from polling stations.
Netanyahu’s bloc, which includes the Likud, the Religious Zionists, the single list of ultra-Orthodox parties Yahadut HaTorah and the ultra-religious Shas, can win 61 seats out of 120, according to exit polls. The Times of Israel predicts that the bloc Netanyahu will have 61-62 seats, Channel 12 predicts that the Netanyahu bloc will have 61 seats, Channel 13 – 62 seats, while the bloc of current Prime Minister Yair Lapid, according to the exit polls of these two channels, has 54-55 seats.
According to the Channel 12 exit poll, the Likud party, led by Netanyahu, could get 30 seats. According to the Channel 13 exit poll, Likud could win 31 seats. Lapid’s Yesh Atid party won 24 seats, according to exit polls from both channels.
However, the balance of power after the counting of all votes may still change, but the Israeli media is generally inclined to believe that, following the results of the current elections, Netanyahu may be able to regain power and become the head of government again. The final results will be known in the coming days, but by Wednesday morning, with the exception of some details, it will already be clear what the balance of power in the 25th Knesset will be, media say.
Polling stations in Israel closed at 22:00 (22:00 Kyiv time). The Israelis elected a new unicameral parliament, the Knesset.
Six vessels with 223.4 thousand tons of food left Ukrainian ports on Friday, having received permission from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC).
“On October 28, six ships left Ukrainian ports, they are transporting a total of 223,430 tons of grain and other agricultural products as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the SKC said in a statement.
The ship Kavo Perdika will deliver 54,160 tons of corn to Israel, the ship Zante – 47,270 tons of rapeseed to Belgium. Dry cargo ship Asl Tia transports 39 thousand tons of sunflower meal to China, dry cargo ship Super Bayern transports 33 thousand tons of corn to Italy.
In addition, two ships Rising Eagle (25 thousand tons of wheat) and Lina (25 thousand tons of corn) are sent to Egypt.
“Grain that has arrived at its destination can be processed and then transported to other countries,” the SKC explained.
It is noted that as of October 27, the total tonnage of grain and other agricultural products exported from three Ukrainian ports is 9,239,819 tons.
“At the moment, 101 vessels have been registered for verification by the SKC, another 76 have applied to join the initiative,” the message says.
As reported, in Istanbul on July 22, with the participation of the UN, Ukraine, Turkey and Russia, two documents were signed on the creation, first, for a period of 120 days, of a corridor for the export of grain from three Ukrainian ports: Chernomorskaya, Odessa and Yuzhny. Ukraine set as its goal to export 3 million tons of agricultural products per month as part of the initiative.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, BELGIUM, CHINA, dry cargo ships, EGYPT, ISRAEL, ITALY
Four bulkers carrying 49,000 tonnes of wheat and soybeans departed from Ukrainian ports on Tuesday after receiving approval from the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC).
“The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) reports that four vessels left Ukrainian ports today carrying a total of 49,000 tonnes of grain and other food products under the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the center said in a statement.
In particular, the Matrix vessel carrying 7,000 tonnes of wheat, the Hasan vessel with 6,000 tonnes of soybeans and the Esence bulker with 6,000 tonnes of wheat are bound for Turkey. The Mastro Mitros is carrying 33,000 tonnes of wheat to Israel.
“Grains that reach a destination may go through processing and be trans-shipped to other countries,” the center said.
“As of 18 October, the total tonnage of grain and other foodstuffs exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 7,860,365 metric tonnes. A total of 719 voyages (365 inbound and 354 outbound) have been enabled so far,” it said.
The United Nations, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed a document in Istanbul on July 22 on opening a corridor to export grain from three Ukrainian ports – Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdenny.
About 13,000 Ukrainians of Jewish origin have repatriated to Israel since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, while the number of repatriates from Russia amounted to 26,000, that is, about one in eight Russian Jews left the country, writes The Guardian on Sunday.
According to the publication, another 35,000 Russians of Jewish origin are awaiting paperwork.
“The repatriation process has been expedited for Ukrainians who are classified as refugees, but unexpected demand from Russia has stunned the Jewish Agency, a quasi-state body that facilitates immigration… However, the work of the Jewish Agency is under threat. In July, the Russian Ministry of Justice recommended closing the organization,” – writes the publication.
The article notes that despite pressure from its Western allies to take a decisive stance, Israel tried to remain neutral in the Russian war in Ukraine, as it relies on Moscow to facilitate its military operations in Syria, but the threat of closing the offices of the Jewish Agency prompted the acting Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid to warn that such a move would deal a serious blow to bilateral relations.
Since 1950, Israel has experienced several waves of aliyah from countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia and Yemen, as well as an influx of more than 1 million people from the USSR and its independent republics after 1989. According to Ukrainian-born Knesset member Yuli Edelshtein, who spent three years in a Siberian penal colony, history repeats itself. “Danger has been a part of the Jewish experience in Russia for generations. Nobody will ever forget this… This time people leave in a hurry – they are driven by fear,” he said.
Russian citizens in Israel are still accepted as tourists. Five new private agencies have also opened to help Jewish Russians make aliyah. “Municipal administration offices across the country have seen a surge in the number of people looking for documents to support their claims of Jewish ancestry. Many of those turning to the authorities for help are mothers desperate to get their sons out of the country,” it said. in the article.
Source: http://theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/16/ukrainians-russians-jews-jewish-roots-flee-israel-aliyah
20 heavily wounded Ukrainian servicemen will undergo treatment in Israel, the Israeli Embassy in Ukraine reported on Twitter on Sunday.
“Israel will accept for treatment 20 Ukrainian servicemen who were seriously injured during the hostilities,” said Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Brodsky.
According to him, the transportation of the wounded was organized by the Israeli Embassy, the Israeli Mashav Center and the Israeli Ministry of Health in cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
