Last modification: 20/02/09
 -  Benjamin Netanyahu - Israel - Israeli politics - Israeli-Palestinian conflict - Likud - Tzipi Livni
 
Security in the spotlight as Israelis head to polls
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Following the conflict in Gaza, security has become the key issue in Israel’s Feb. 10 general election. Likud's hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu leads in polls, but the rise of ultra-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman shows it may not be politics as usual.

Read more Israel election coverage on our The Observers page.

  • ISRAEL
    Higher than expected turnout in tight elections
    Israelis began voting in parliamentary elections with early participation high. Exit polls showed right-of-centre Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni locked in a tight race, followed by far-right candidate Avigdor Lieberman.
  • ISRAEL - ELECTIONS
    Dark horse Lieberman puts far right in contention
    In further proof of a swing to the right during a lacklustre campaign, the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party of Avigdor Lieberman threatens to draw support from traditional Likud backers.
  • ISRAELI ELECTIONS
    Yes, we can… copy Obama’s website
    Israel's election candidates have taken a lead from Barack Obama's unprecedented and original use of slogans, the Internet and the mobilisation of activists - but will it work?
  • ISRAEL - ELECTIONS
    YouTube gives a voice to Israeli voters
    YouTube proved to be a powerful tool for democracy in the recent US election, and now it is the Israelis' turn to speak out. The website has become a platform for voters to put questions directly to the candidates ahead of the Feb. 10 poll.

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  • ISRAEL
    Netanyahu to form new Israeli government
    Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the task of forming a new Israeli government, tendered to him by President Shimon Peres on Friday, and called for national unity with Israel's centrist Kadima party and its left-wing Labour party.
  • ISRAEL
    Peres set to push for Likud-Kadima unity
    While Benjamin Netanyahu has secured the support he needed from the far-right, President Shimon Peres will act to end the stalemate by asking Likud and rival Tzipi Livni of the centrist Kadima party to join forces to form a unity government.
  • WEB NEWS
    Avigdor Lieberman intrigues the blogosphere
    Today on the Web: Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, divides bloggers. Also: two American teenagers who mistreated their cat are identified and arrested after a massive online mobilisation against such cruelty.
  • ISRAEL
    Lieberman boosts Netanyahu's PM bid
    Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu's chances of becoming prime minister have improved significantly after he won the backing of Avigdor Lieberman, head of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, said Israeli army radio.
  • ISRAEL
    Livni says no to Netanyahu premiership
    While Israel's centrist Kadima party on Sunday called for a power-sharing deal with the right-wing party Likud, current Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni ruled out any premiership role for its leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
  • ISRAEL
    Netanyahu ahead in race to form coalition
    Right-wing Benjamin Netanyahu has a better chance of securing a coalition in the Israeli parliament, observers say, despite official election results showing that rival centrist Kadima narrowly emerged as the top party in parliament.
  • COMMENTARY
    How Gaza's tragedy knocked Israel and Syria off the path to peace
    Last month's war in Gaza appears to have pulled the leaders of Israel and Syria from the brink of historic face to face talks.
  • GAZA
    Truce with Israel to be announced, says Hamas
    Hamas has accepted an 18-month truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip, according to the deputy head of the Islamist movement's politburo, Moussa Abu Marzouk (photo). Confirmation is expected from Egyptian mediators within the next 48 hours.
  • ISRAEL
    Final results show Livni's Kadima won by a single seat
    Official results of the Israeli general election have confirmed that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's governing Kadima party defeated right-of-centre Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud by the narrowest of margins.
  • IRAN - ISRAEL
    Iranians see Israeli elections as a no-win situation
    In Iran, hatred for Israel runs high and support for Palestinians is strong. FRANCE 24 special correspondents Sophie Claudet and Alexandra Renard report from Tehran, finding that locals view the Israeli election as a no-win for Iran.
  • ISRAEL - ELECTIONS
    Netanyahu's Likud eyeing return to power
    Israel's right-of-centre opposition Likud party, led by hawkish former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, has emerged as the favourite in a campaign dominated by Gaza and the issue of security.
  • ISRAEL - ELECTIONS
    Barak comeback falling short in final stretch
    Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak's political days appeared to be numbered following an undistinguished stint as premier. Yet the recent assault on Gaza has perhaps revived the chances of the current Labour Party leader.
  • ISRAEL
    Likud in lead ahead of vote, poll shows
    Israel's right-of-centre opposition Likud party, led by hawkish former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, remains the favourite ahead of Israel's Feb. 10 elections, according to opinion polls released on Friday.
  • ISRAEL ELECTIONS
    The spiritual - and temporal - heart of Shas
    As the spiritual head of the Shas party, Rabi Ovadia Yosef is the man to meet with in the lead-up to the Feb. 10 polls. It was Shas, after all, that caused the collapse of Israel’s previous government. He could make or break the next.
  • ISRAEL - ELECTIONS
    Kadima in disarray as rightists gain ground
    Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (pictured) has picked up the Kadima party of the disgraced outgoing premier, Ehud Olmert. Yet the centrist candidate has slipped behind the right in a campaign dominated by the issue of security.
  • ISRAEL - ELECTIONS
    YouTube gives a voice to Israeli voters
    YouTube proved to be a powerful tool for democracy in the recent US election, and now it is the Israelis' turn to speak out. The website has become a platform for voters to put questions directly to the candidates ahead of the Feb. 10 poll.
  • MIDDLE EAST
    Gaza under attack
    On 27 Dec. 2008 Israel launched one of the deadliest offensives in the Gaza Strip since the 1967 war. 1,300 Palestinians died, Gaza sources say, before a ceasefire ended the 22-day war that has also left thousands homeless and displaced.
  • ISRAEL
    Livni calls for elections 'as soon as possible'
    The head of Israel’s ruling Kadima party, Tzipi Livni, said efforts to form a governing coalition had failed and called for early elections after differences with the ultra-Orthodox Shas party proved insurmountable.

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