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High-Ranking Iranian General Dies of Heart Disease

FILE-- In this Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006, file photo, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, left, attends a military parade in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE-- In this Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006, file photo, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, left, attends a military parade in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
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High-Ranking Iranian General Dies of Heart Disease

FILE-- In this Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006, file photo, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, left, attends a military parade in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE-- In this Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006, file photo, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, left, attends a military parade in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, a high-ranking general key to Iran's security apparatus, has died, the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Sunday.

Hejazi, who died at 65, served as deputy commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC. The unit oversees foreign operations, and Hejazi helped lead its expeditionary forces and frequently shuttled between Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

Born in 1956 in the city of Isfahan, Hejazi joined the Guard after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and came to lead the paramilitary Basij volunteer corps for a decade.

Hejazi took up the position of deputy commander of the Quds Force in April of last year after leading the Guard’s paramilitary forces in Lebanon. Iranian media reported that he joined forces fighting against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

The Guard statement said he died of heart disease, without providing any further details.

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Netanyahu's Popularity Further Declines

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara (File/Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara (File/Reuters)
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Netanyahu's Popularity Further Declines

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara (File/Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara (File/Reuters)

The coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost three seats it earned during the past three weeks, including two seats earned last week and one seat this week, according to this week’s Maariv poll.
In return, the Israeli opposition made a slight advancement, which indicates that if elections were to be held today, Netanyahu is far from securing the needed seats to form a government.
The Religious Zionist Party, New Hope-United Right led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich remained below the electoral threshold of 3.25%, scoring only 1.6%.
After survey respondents were asked for whom they would vote if new Knesset elections were held today, Netanyahu’s Likud and the rest of the ruling coalition parties emerged with a combined 48 seats, one fewer than last week. The coalition has 64 seats and therefore needs at least 13 more seats to form a government.
In return, the opposition earned 72 seats, including 10 for Arab parties.
The poll also revealed that a party led by Naftali Bennett has weakened by one seat this week, now standing at 24, still three more seats ahead of Likud's 21.
The opposition bloc lost one seat this week but still retained a majority of 65 seats, without the Arab parties, which gained one seat this week.
In this scenario, the government of Netanyahu will definitely not remain in power.
The polling, published by Maariv every Friday, is done by “Lazar Research” and conducted in collaboration with Panel4All.
After survey respondents were asked for whom they would vote if new Knesset elections were held today, Netanyahu’s Likud emerged with 23 seats (lost one third of its current 32 seats), National Unity, 20 (currently 8), Yesh Atid, 16 (currently 24), Yisrael Beiteinu, 15 (currently 6), The Democrats, 11 (currently four), Shas, 10 (currently 10), Otzma Yehudit, 8 (currently 6), United Torah Judaism, 7 (currently 7), Hadash-Ta’al, 6 (6), and Ra’am 4.
In this scenario, Netanyahu's coalition would gain 48 seats, and the opposition bloc would gain 72 seats, including 10 seats for Arab parties.
Meanwhile, a majority of the Israeli public (52%) opposes the judicial reform being reintroduced by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, 35% support it, and 13% are undecided.
Politically, most coalition voters (72%) support the reform, while opposition voters (85%) are strongly opposed to it.