Lebanese Writer: Jordan and West Bank Should Become Palestinian State Th...
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Knesset 2015. Post-Election Remarks
Israeli voters gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a resounding victory in Tuesday's [17 th Mar. 2015] election, despite pre-election polls showing him trailing the Zionist Union. The Zionist Union won close to the total it had been predicted by pollsters, and its 24 seats is more that Labour and Livni’s Hatnua won separately in 2013 (21). However PM Netanyahu’s Likud secured a decisive victory with 30 Knesset seats. Polls before election as well even exit polls differed vastly from the final figures. Sure the Israeli left did better than it has done in almost a generation but it was not enough. One part of leftist campaign was sc V15 – Victory in 2015 - project of the One Voice group. The project was accused of being operated and funded by anti-right groups abroad, which gave the group money to set up an organization that would cause Netanyahu to lose. The group denied that it was representing foreign agents, and the Likud sought to have the group shut down, unsuccessfully....
Knesset 2015: Forecast
On 17th March will Israel have voting for new Knesset and it seems to be creating very interesting scenarios for future. Last polls show that now there is a real possibility to replace PM Netanyahu with centre-left option. Centre-right Likud is losing elections to Zionist Union which is a new combination of Isaac Herzog's Labor party and Tzipi Livni's Hatnuah. When PM Netanyahu made decision about early elections he or most analysts hardly were supposing so big change. It remains to see if possible win of Zionist Union is enough for centre-left led government which could boost Israeli-Palestinian peace process to new track. According to the last polls Zionist Union is getting 24-26 Member of Knesset while the ruling Likud only 21 or less and its right-wing ally Habayit Hayehud 11-12 MKs. A new center-right party - Kulany - with its popular leader, ex-Likud minister Moshe Kahlon might get nine MKs and the secular populist party Yesh Ati...
From History: "Beilin - Abu Mazen Plan"
In 1993, under the direction of Yasser Arafat's deputy, Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) held secret negotiations with Israel's then–Deputy Foreign Minister, Yossi Beilin. The negotiations gave birth to the " Beilin–Abu Mazen Understandings ," (or Beilin-Abu Mazen plan or Beilin-Abu Mazen document ) the first-ever draft of a final status agreement. Beilin had worked as a journalist and as a lecturer in political science before going into politics in the mid-80's. He quickly established himself in the Labor Party's Young Guard as a militant moderate and as an advocate of equal rights for Israel's Arab minority and reconciliation with the Palestinians.Right at the beginning, Beilin went straight to Arafat (while he was still in Tunisia) to ask him to join in an effort to work out principles for a final agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Arafat agreed and delegated the job to his closest advisor, Mahmoud Abbas, known also as Abu Mazen. From the dem...