Israel’s Right-Wing Parties Want to Sack Netanyahu

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Israel’s Right-Wing Parties Want to Sack Netanyahu

Israeli right-wing parties are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and calling for another right-wing leader as his successor, according to political sources familiar with the matter in Tel Aviv.

The recent demand is welcomed by several parties such as Netanyahu’s Likud, as well as the New Right and the National Union, both members of the Yamina Alliance led by Naftali Bennett.

They used scare tactics to warn right-wing parties that their ideologies face the risk of losing power due to Netanyahu's failures to address the scourge of the coronavirus and the dangerous economic consequences.

They say that the public has lost confidence in the PM and his ministers, who are chaotically leading the country with contradictory decisions.

The parties said that a number of ministers issued precautionary measures that they did not follow, but asked citizens to abide by them.

Polls confirm that despite the achievements in foreign policy and the agreements with the UAE and Bahrain, Netanyahu's domestic popularity continues to decline, according to right-wing officials.

They believe he should resign and give way to another right-wing figure who is welcomed by all, in order to save the right-wing regime.

However, another part wants the premier removed because they believe he, like some of his predecessors, has betrayed the principles.

They refer to Menachem Begin, who evacuated settlements by force and recognized the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, Ariel Sharon who split the Likud party and led the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip to the 1967 borders, and Ehud Olmert who offered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a plan to withdraw from 98 percent of the West Bank.

Journalist Kalman Libeskind suggested finding a “respectable exit” for Netanyahu by concluding a plea deal with the prosecution, according to which he retired from politics, in exchange for dismissing the indictments against him.

A similar position was reflected by a senior Likud official who spoke to journalist Ben Caspet, on condition of anonymity.

The official believes that it’s about time Netanyahu ends his term. He indicated that the PM is even following the path of the left-wing leaders who ignored all principles and ideology and have always sought compromises for solutions.

He described Netanyahu as a “pragmatic leader” who does not take military risks.

The official recalled how Netanyahu accepted the Oslo Accords and completed their implementation, and now stopped the annexation plan and pledged not to object the deal to sell advanced aircraft to the UAE.

He warned that if Netanyahu remains in power, “he will reach an agreement with the Palestinians, the price of which will be high, more than what we have paid so far. Therefore, it is time for him to give up.”

Netanyahu's comrades in Likud fear that the upcoming elections will not be in their favor.

The public discontent with the government’s failure to combat the pandemic and the exhausting economic conditions are noticeable and high. In addition, unemployment rate has amounted to half a million workers, and in the most recent polls, 49 percent of Israelis complained that they were directly affected by the government's recent economic decisions.

However, Naftali Bennett is benefitting the most from the current situation. A once high-ranking official at Netanyahu's office, Bennett left to form a party with Ayelet Shaked and they now lead the coalition of extreme right-wing parties, Yamina.

They won six seats in the Knesset, and polls show that they could quadruple it to more than 22 seats in the coming elections.

Bennett sees himself as a strong candidate for the premiership, even in an alliance with Netanyahu.

Bennett seeks to expand the ranks of his party to include liberal forces and gain the votes of the center. He proposes forming an alliance between Likud and Yamina, before the elections, provided that he leads the government until Netanyahu finishes his trial.

In the meantime, Bennett continues to attack Netanyahu for his failures, and Likud threatens to keep him out of any future right-wing coalition.



32 Go on Trial Over Fatal Hotel Fire in Türkiye

A fire truck is seen in front of a hotel, following a deadly fire, in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu, Türkiye, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
A fire truck is seen in front of a hotel, following a deadly fire, in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu, Türkiye, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
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32 Go on Trial Over Fatal Hotel Fire in Türkiye

A fire truck is seen in front of a hotel, following a deadly fire, in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu, Türkiye, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
A fire truck is seen in front of a hotel, following a deadly fire, in the ski resort of Kartalkaya, in Bolu, Türkiye, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

Thirty-two people went on trial in Türkiye on Monday over a fire at a luxury ski resort hotel in January that killed 78 people, including 36 children, local media reported.

Entire families perished when the huge blaze swept through the Grand Kartal Hotel in the northern mountain resort of Kartalkaya in the early hours of January 21.

Questions have multiplied about fire safety measures at the hotel and victims' families allege that negligence contributed to the high death toll.

More than 130 people were injured and the 12-storey building was destroyed.

Thirteen of the defendants -- including senior officials at the hotel, the fire department and the city council -- face up to 1,998 years in prison each on 78 charges, including "manslaughter with possible intent" to kill, AFP reported.

Survivors and experts have said the hotel's fire alarm system did not work.

According to the indictment, the suspects facing manslaughter charges include the hotel's owner, managers and members of the board, the deputy mayor of Bolu city and two fire department officials.

Before the hearing, victims' families gathered outside Bolu high school, where the trial is taking place, carrying portraits of the deceased.

They read out a statement, alleging countless breaches of safety and attempts to conceal evidence.

"During the fire, the owners, managers and employees of the Grand Kartal Hotel failed to alert guests or activate the alarm system.

"They rushed to save their cars while our loved ones were suffocating in the smoke," they alleged.

"An inspection report drawn up just one month before the fire clearly showed a lack of fire safety measures but the hotel owners ignored it on the grounds that the measures would be too costly," they continued.

"We know that the authorities turned a blind eye to this negligence, that evidence was concealed and that the camera recordings were deleted."

At the time of the fire, the tourism ministry and Bolu city council blamed each other for the disaster.

Due to the large number of defendants and plaintiffs -- 210 civil parties, the Bolu High Criminal Court is sitting at the high school's sports hall.

Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition CHP, would attend the hearing, the social-democratic party said.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.