Forward.com

Coalition Talks Offer Few Slots To Old SoldiersTEL AVIV — Although the signs were visible well before Israel’s March 28 elections, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz refused to believe that his term at the helm of Israel’s most sensitive ministry was actually drawing to a close. “I don’t believe he [Prime Minister Ehud Olmert] would give up on me,” Mofaz told the Forward shortly before…Read more

Defense Chief Calls for Second DisengagementTEL AVIV — Barely 48 hours after the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian parliamentary elections — a victory that no Israeli intelligence agency foresaw — the government in Jerusalem had replaced its initial shock with a “wait and see” attitude. The prevailing tone was that in the end, something good might come out of the…Read more

Netanyahu Recaptures the Likud Party, at Least What’s Left of ItTEL AVIV — Early this past Monday morning, as the first voters made their way to the polls to vote in the Likud leadership primary, party front-runner Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Addressing reporters afterward, Netanyahu said he “prayed for the health of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,” who had suffered a…Read more

Bitter Divisions Could Split Likud PartyTEL AVIV – For the first time in Israeli history, the ruling party has started the process of deposing a reigning prime minister — and its quite possible that the internal Likud fight could mean defeat for both sides.Barely two-and-a-half years after enjoying its most resounding victory in the polls, the Likud is about to embark on a political…Read more

Soldiers, Police Praised After Evacuating SettlementsEIN HASHLOSHA, Israel — As the residents of Netzarim, the last Israeli settlement in Gaza to be evacuated, left the area Monday, the respective commanders of the Israeli military and police southern commands, Dan Harel, a general, and police chief Uri Barlev, met the press in what was tantamount to a victory ceremony.They maintained a collected,…Read more