Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a freeze on publishing tenders for new West Bank settler homes to avoid hampering US efforts to renew peace talks, according to Israeli army radio reports.
Israel has confirmed it held Ben Zygier in solitary confinement on security grounds and said he later took his own life but few other details are clear about the alleged Mossad agent.
The 120-seat Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is now evenly divided between right wing and centre-left parties but Netanyahu is expected to negotiate a coalition and third term as prime minister.
A government of hardline, right wing and religious parties is expected to come together after elections to the 120-seat Knesset today with polls opening this morning.
Construction is expected to be in the highly contentious area of the West Bank known as E1, a corridor that runs between the easternmost edge of annexed east Jerusalem and the Maaleh Adumim settlement.
A date has been set for an early general election after coalition partners reached a deadlock over of austerity measures for the country’s upcoming budget.
Benjamin Netanyahu will bring the main opposition party into a coalition government that will have a huge majority. It’s a move that will moderate his government’s hawkish tendencies.
Netanyahu’s government is the most stable Israel has had in years – but he faces pressure on domestic issues including the high cost of living and Palestine.
Israeli security forces ended a week-long stand-off today, evicting dozens of Jewish settlers from an illegally occupied building in the volatile West Bank city of Hebron.
MINISTER JAMES REILLY has started a campaign to control the costs of health insurance this week with the appointment of an independent expert to chair a forum of providers.
The Fine Gael TD has voiced his disappointment at rising premium prices in recent weeks but insurers insist they have been forced into the increases because of higher charges for public hospital beds and a government levy.
Regardless of where the expenses originate, the customer has experienced annual hikes in their payments, to the point where many have reduced their cover or cancelled it entirely. Last month, figures from the Health Insurance Authority showed the percentage of the population with cover fell to 45.3 per cent.
Today, we ask about your own experiences. Have you given up your health insurance in recent years?
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