Israel's Netanyahu, Gantz See 'Significant Progress' Toward Unity Govt

Former army chief Benny Gantz has agreed to join an 'emergency unity government' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu | AFP
Former army chief Benny Gantz has agreed to join an 'emergency unity government' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu | AFP
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Israel's Netanyahu, Gantz See 'Significant Progress' Toward Unity Govt

Former army chief Benny Gantz has agreed to join an 'emergency unity government' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu | AFP
Former army chief Benny Gantz has agreed to join an 'emergency unity government' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu | AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his erstwhile rival Benny Gantz on Sunday announced "significant progress" in talks towards forming an emergency unity government amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Gantz, whose now fractured centrist Blue and White alliance had positioned itself as the alternative to Netanyahu in three inconclusive elections over the past year, was elected parliament speaker Thursday.

The two men had held talks through the night "aimed at establishing a national emergency government to deal with the corona crisis and the additional challenges facing the State of Israel," said a joint statement from Blue and White and Netanyahu's Likud.

"Significant progress was made during the meeting," it added.

"During the course of the day, an additional meeting will be held in order to come to a finalized agreement."

Gantz was tasked with forming a government following the March 2 vote -- something he had been unable to do after two elections last year.

There was no guarantee he would succeed this time, given a lack of cohesion within the anti-Netanyahu bloc.

The divided anti-Netanyahu forces, who held a narrow majority in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, forced the ouster this week of speaker Yuli Edelstein, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party.

Gantz then put himself forward as speaker, triggering the break-up of Blue and White, with two key partners -- the Telem and Yesh Atid parties -- accusing Gantz of surrendering "without a fight" to Netanyahu.

Gantz and Netanyahu had both previously voiced support for a unity government to combat the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far seen over 3,800 Israelis infected, including 12 deaths.

There were no official details of the makeup of a future government, but Netanyahu has in past weeks proposed 18-month premiership terms -- with him taking the first, to be followed by Gantz.

The veteran premier, in office since 2009, was in January charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, with the start of his trial delayed due to the virus pandemic.

Netanyahu denies the charges.



ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for Taliban Leaders over Persecution of Women, Girls

A poster of Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is seen along a road in Kabul on August 14, 2023. © Wakil Kohsar, AFP
A poster of Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is seen along a road in Kabul on August 14, 2023. © Wakil Kohsar, AFP
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ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for Taliban Leaders over Persecution of Women, Girls

A poster of Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is seen along a road in Kabul on August 14, 2023. © Wakil Kohsar, AFP
A poster of Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is seen along a road in Kabul on August 14, 2023. © Wakil Kohsar, AFP

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Tuesday for the Taliban’s supreme leader and the head of Afghanistan’s Supreme Court on charges of persecuting women and girls since seizing power nearly four years ago.

The warrants also accuse the leaders of persecuting “other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression; and on political grounds against persons perceived as ‘allies of girls and women.’”

The warrants were issued against Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhunzada and the head of the Supreme Court, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, The AP news reported.

The court said in a statement that the Taliban have “severely deprived, through decrees and edicts, girls and women of the rights to education, privacy and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion. In addition, other persons were targeted because certain expressions of sexuality and/or gender identity were regarded as inconsistent with the Taliban’s policy on gender.”

The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, sought the warrants in January.

Global advocacy group Human Rights Watch welcomed the decision.

“Senior Taliban leaders are now wanted men for their alleged persecution of women, girls, and gender non-conforming people. The international community should fully back the ICC in its critical work in Afghanistan and globally, including through concerted efforts to enforce the court’s warrants," Liz Evenson, the group's international justice director, said in a statement.