May I throw some light on the Israeli general election, the results of which worried Dr Kevin McCarthy [Letters, 19 March]. 

If Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu forms a new hard-right government, it will be a triumph for the politics of fear over socio-economics. 

Clearer path to coalition for PM as two main parties lead the way

Israelis are voting in elections following a campaign focused on economic issues such as the high cost of living, rather than fears of a nuclear Iran or the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trailing in opinion polls, used a strategic Jewish settlement he helped found as the backdrop for an election eve bid to win back right-wing votes.

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has died, his son has confirmed.

Israel’s defence minister Ehud Barak announced he was quitting politics, a surprise decision that deepens uncertainty over how Israel will confront Iran’s nuclear programme.

Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to declare that early elections will be held less than four months from now, a move that would give him a referendum on his leadership that would help him fend off both Israeli and international critics.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won the leadership race of his Likud Party over his ultra-nationalist rival, hours after his government approved new incentives to entice people to move to West Bank settlements.

PALESTINIAN president Mahmoud Abbas described as “abominable” a weekend stabbing attack which killed five Israelis, including a baby, in their beds in a West Bank settlement.

The Israeli military said a Palestinian has infiltrated a Jewish West Bank settlement and killed five people.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has proposed a multinational investigation of Israel’s raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship in which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed, an Israeli official said yesterday.

Israel is poised to approve more West Bank settlement building today after key leaders defied US pressure and backed the controversial enclaves.

ISRAELI legal authorities have indicted former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert on corruption charges.

RENEWED peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians must tackle core issues including Jerusalem, Middle East envoy Tony Blair has said.

Israel’s new leader Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to seek “full peace” with the Arab and Muslim world, but refused to utter the words everyone was waiting to hear: “Palestinian state.”

A PRISONER swap deal with Hamas is all but impossible before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert leaves office this week and will have to wait for the new government to be sworn in, a top aide to the Israeli leader said yesterday.

PRIME minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party has initiated a coalition agreement with an ultra-nationalist faction that brings its leader significantly closer to becoming foreign minister, a Likud party spokeswoman said yesterday.

The leader of an ultra-nationalist splinter group took a step closer to becoming Israel’s foreign minister today.

Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party signed a coalition agreement with the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu faction, naming its leader, Avigdor Lieberman, as the incoming foreign minister, Israeli media reported early today.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert threatened painful retaliation against Gaza militants today for rockets still hitting Israel six weeks after its military halted an offensive that was supposed to have stopped them for good.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is using her second overseas trip to assess Mideast peace prospects, reconnect with European allies and remind her Russian counterpart that US efforts to rebuild relations with Moscow have their limits.

Israel’s hardline prime minister designate, Benjamin Netanyahu will meet the head of the dovish Labour Party today after failing to tempt centrist leader Tzipi Livni into a broad, moderate, coalition government.

Two rockets have been fired from south Lebanon toward Israel, Lebanese security officials said today, injuring at least one Israeli.

Hard-line Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu was today chosen to form a new Israeli government.

FAR-RIGHT politician Avigdor Lieberman endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu for Israeli prime minister yesterday, all but guaranteeing that the US-educated hawk will be the country’s next leader.

ISRAELI president Shimon Peres will hold talks with party leaders today before deciding whom he should ask to form a new government after an indecisive election, a statement released last night said.

Final results in Israel's election tonight give the moderate Kadima Party one more seat in the new parliament than Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud.

Moderate Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of Israel’s governing Kadima Party declared victory in a tight race with hawkish Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

ISRAEL’S national election is likely to be a cliffhanger, pollsters said yesterday, on the eve of a vote in which right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party had been forecast to emerge victorious.

Israel looks set to elect a new hardline government in elections tomorrow.

A long-range rocket from Gaza landed in an Israeli city today, police said.

Gaza militants launched two rockets into southern Israel early today, further straining a ceasefire that ended Israel's Gaza offensive two weeks ago.

ISRAELI opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday pledged to continue negotiations with the Palestinians if he wins February elections, backing away from earlier hints he would abandon peace talks.

Israel must control all of Jerusalem forever, said former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, taking a stand against a key compromise that could seal an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has easily defeated a radical Jewish settler in the race to lead the hardline Likud Party.

Shimon Peres leads by a wide margin after first round of presidential voting in Israel today, giving him the edge in the second round to take place this afternoon.

Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister tossed out of office six years ago in a humiliating election defeat, won the leadership of the dovish Labour Party today in a dramatic political comeback.

Israel’s hardline Likud party would score a big win at the expense of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Kadima and his main partner Labour – a complete turnaround – if elections were held now, according to a poll published today.

A slip of the tongue by prime minister Ehud Olmert about Israel’s nuclear policy ballooned into a domestic crisis today for the already embattled Israeli leader.

Israelis would vote Ehud Olmert out of office if elections were held now, polls indicated today, as the defiant prime minister defended his performance in the Lebanon war and lashed out at his critics.

ON Tuesday last, Caroline Glick, deputy managing editor of the Jerusalem Post, was interviewed on RTÉ.

ACTING Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima Party is seeking swift coalition negotiations to carry out its plan to pull out of much of the West Bank and draw Israel's borders by 2010.

After declaring victory in Israeli elections, acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s Kadima Party said today it would quickly form a broad ruling coalition that will pull out of much of the West Bank and draw Israel’s borders by 2010.