Brexit summit: EU expected to grant UK extension with strings attached - CNBC

European leaders will decide on Wednesday whether to grant the U.K. another extension to its departure from the bloc, due to take place on Friday April 12.

The EU's 28 leaders, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, are heading to Brussels for an emergency summit dedicated to Brexit. This after May asked the bloc for a second delay to the U.K.'s departure.

The summit begins at 17:00 London time and May will formally present her case for requesting a short delay to Brexit until June 30, asking for the option to leave if a deal is agreed by the U.K. Parliament before then.

It's widely expected that the U.K. will be granted a longer, flexible extension with conditions attached, however, according to an invitation letter sent to EU leaders by European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday.

"I believe we should also discuss an alternative, longer extension. One possibility would be a flexible extension, which would last only as long as necessary and no longer than one year," Tusk said in his letter.

He called for a longer delay to avoid "the risk of a rolling series of short extensions and emergency summits, creating new cliff-edge dates."

Conditions that the U.K. could have to abide by, Tusk noted, would include no re-opening of negotiations over the withdrawal agreement (the Brexit deal) on offer. The U.K. could leave earlier than a newly agreed departure date if a deal is in place and Tusk reiterated that the U.K. could revoke Article 50 (the departure process) at any time.

A draft EU document circulated to diplomats ahead of the emergency meeting of EU leaders proposes an extension but leaves the date blank. It also notes that an extension cannot be used to undermine the EU or to start trade talks.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told CNBC Tuesday that Germany is "well-prepared for an agreement or a Brexit without an agreement … (but) it would be better to have something that is with a deal," he told CNBC's Annette Weisbach Tuesday.

Scholz welcomed talks between May and opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and said "the main thing now is to get an agreement in Parliament … I'm still a big fan of the tradition of pragmatism in Great Britain and I'm sure that this tradition will be a basis for a solution."

The U.K.'s request for an extension comes after a prolonged period of disarray in British politics over Brexit with 'Brexiteers' and 'Remainers' still sorely divided over the departure.

A majority of British lawmakers rejected May's Brexit deal three times and failed to find a majority in support of alternative options, but also rejected a departure without a deal. May has been holding cross-party talks in the hope that a compromise can be found over the deal.

Although there has been some reluctance among certain EU members (notably France) to grant the U.K. more time, with concerns the U.K. would have to take part in EU Parliamentary elections in late May but as a departing member could disrupt the EU's decision-making processes.

None the less, there is a recognition that a no-deal departure – the now infamous "cliff-edge" scenario where there is no post-EU transition period -- would be economically and politically disruptive for both the U.K. and its counterparts across the channel.

Tusk's invitation letter came after May traveled to Berlin and Paris Tuesday for talks with the German and French leaders in a bid to secure backing for a second delay to Brexit. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said a delay until the start of 2020 was a possibility.

Meanwhile, Downing Street said in a statement that May had sought to reassure French President Emmanuel Macron that the U.K. government was "working very hard to avoid the need for the U.K. to take part" in EU Parliamentary elections.

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2019-04-10 06:56:37Z
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Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama hospitalized with chest infection - CNN

The 83-year-old Tibetan Buddhist monk had returned to his home of Dharamsala, in the Indian Himalayas, from a meeting with youth leaders in New Delhi when he felt "some discomfort," his private secretary Tenzin Taklha told CNN.

"He was brought to Delhi for check up. The doctors said he had some sort of a chest infection. He is fine and stable. He'll be treated for two more days," the aide said.

Last month marked 60 years since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet for exile in India, after an unsuccessful revolt following the arrival of Chinese troops in Tibet saw thousands flee across the border.

Ever since, the Dalai Lama -- who is revered as a living god by millions of Tibetan Buddhists -- has made India his home. India officially calls him "(our) most esteemed and honored guest."

From his base in India, the Dalai Lama traveled the globe, becoming an icon, culturally as well as religiously. Last year, however, he decided to cut his busy schedule, citing citing age and exhaustion.

It is unclear who will succeed him when he dies, how that person will be picked or whether there will even be another Dalai Lama.

Traditionally, the title is bestowed on the highest-ranking leader in Tibetan Buddhism. It is given to those deemed to be the reincarnation of a line of revered religious teachers.

Asked in a recent interview what might happen after his death, the Dalai Lama anticipated a possible attempt by Beijing to foist a successor on Tibetan Buddhists.

"In (the) future, in case you see two Dalai Lamas come, one from here, in a free country, one is chosen by Chinese, and then nobody will trust, nobody will respect (the one chosen by China)," he said. "So that's an additional problem for the Chinese. It's possible, it can happen."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in March the "reincarnation of living Buddhas including the Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese laws and regulations and follow religious rituals and historical conventions."

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2019-04-10 05:53:00Z
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Brexit: Theresa May to make plea for 30 June delay at EU summit - BBC News

EU leaders are to meet for an emergency summit in Brussels to decide whether to offer the UK another delay to Brexit.

Prime Minister Theresa May wants to postpone the date the UK leaves the EU beyond this Friday, until 30 June.

But the EU is expected to offer a longer delay, after European Council President Donald Tusk urged the other 27 leaders to back a flexible extension of up to a year - with conditions.

Mr Tusk added that "neither side should be allowed to feel humiliated".

Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said neither he nor the PM wanted to see a longer extension, but said it was a possibility because MPs had not backed Mrs May's deal.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The reason we have to go back [to the EU] today is not because of the prime minister, but because Parliament once again refused to vote for the withdrawal agreement. It is a consequence of Parliament. Not government, Parliament."

The UK is currently due to leave the EU at 23:00 BST on Friday, 12 April.

So far, UK MPs have rejected the withdrawal agreement Mrs May reached with other European leaders last year, so she is now asking for the leaving date to be extended.

Every EU member state needs to agree before a delay can be granted.

If no extension is granted, the default position would be for the UK to leave on Friday without a deal.

Mrs May will head to Belgium this afternoon, after her weekly clash with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.

That head-to-head follows five days of talks between the government and Labour officials aimed at breaking the Brexit impasse.

At the summit - which begins at about 18:00 local time (17:00 BST) on Wednesday evening - Mrs May will formally present her case for a short delay until 30 June, with the option for the UK to leave earlier if her Brexit deal is ratified.

The other EU leaders will then have dinner without her and discuss how to respond.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the PM had to convince EU leaders about the credibility of talks with Labour and prove they were "a genuine political plan that has a chance of getting the UK out of this maze".

She said the assumption a long delay would be agreed was not guaranteed, adding: "Don't rule out a shorter extension".

• Kuenssberg: Brexit delay proves lesser evil for May

In a formal letter to the leaders on the eve of the summit, Mr Tusk proposed a longer, flexible extension - although "no longer than one year" - to avoid creating more cliff-edge extensions or emergency summits in the future.

Any delay should have conditions attached, he said - including that there would be no reopening of the withdrawal agreement talks. And the UK would have the option to leave earlier if a Brexit deal was ratified.

Referring to Mrs May's proposal for an extension until the end of June, he added there was "little reason to believe" that Mrs May's deal could be ratified by then.

And if the European Council did not agree on an extension at all, "there would be a risk of an accidental no-deal Brexit", he said.

Mr Tusk also warned that "neither side should be allowed to feel humiliated at any stage in this difficult process".

EU officials have prepared a draft document for the leaders to discuss at the summit - with the end date of the delay left blank for them to fill in once deliberations have ended.

BBC Europe editor Katya Adler said the fact the length of delay had been left blank in the conclusions showed EU leaders were still divided on the issue.

BBC Europe correspondent Kevin Connolly said "much has been spelled out in advance", including the condition that if the UK remains a member of the EU at the end of May it will have to hold elections to the European Parliament or be forced to leave immediately.

He added that, during the delay, the UK would be expected to commit to not disrupting EU business, such as the preparation of the next budget, and its influence "would be sharply reduced and its voice muted".

On Tuesday, Mrs May travelled to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and then to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, in a bid to seek their support for her shorter delay.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Afterwards, Ms Merkel said a delay that ran until the end of this year or the start of 2020 was a possibility.

In a statement, Downing Street said the prime minister and Chancellor Merkel agreed on the importance of ensuring Britain's orderly withdrawal.

Meanwhile, talks between Labour and the Conservatives are scheduled to resume after Mrs May returns from the summit.

The Brexit Secretary, Stephen Barclay, said holding talks with the opposition was "contrary to the normal tradition", but they were taking place "in good faith".

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the discussions had been "open and constructive", but the sides differed on a "number of areas".

Labour's shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said they were "hopeful progress will be made".

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2019-04-10 04:34:12Z
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Missing Japanese F-35 poses major security headache for US if it falls into Russian or Chinese hands - Fox News

The Japanese F-35 fighter jet missing in the Pacific could be a major security headache for the U.S. if Russia or China locate the state-of-the-art fighter jet first, experts warn.

Japanese defense officials say a search is underway for the fighter jet after it disappeared from radar during a flight exercise in northern Japan. The plane’s pilot is also missing.

Bristling with sophisticated technology and weaponry, the F-35 is the result of the most expensive weapons program in America’s military history, valued at $406.1 billion.

File photo - A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron takes off at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Feb. 9, 2018, after supporting of the vice president’s visit to Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Yasuo Osakabe)

AIR FORCE: F-35A FIGHTER JET IS NOW 'COMBAT READY'

“There is no price too high in this world for China and Russia to pay to get Japan's missing F-35, if they can. Big deal,” tweeted Tom Moore, a former senior professional staff member at the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Both Russia and China maintain a significant naval presence in the region, sparking concerns that they could find the missing F-35, Business Insider reports.

“If one of Japan’s F-35s is sitting at the bottom of the Pacific, we are probably about to see one of the biggest underwater espionage and counter-espionage ops since the Cold War. If it was operating without its radar reflectors pinpointing where it went in may be an issue,” tweeted Tyler Rogoway, editor of The War Zone.

“It could present problems depending on what is recovered, when it is recovered and, above all, in which conditions, after impacting the surface of the water,” Rome-based aviation expert, pilot, and former Italian Air Force officer David Cenciotti told Fox News via email. “The F-35 is a system of systems and its low observability/stealthiness is a system itself.”

FIGHTER MILESTONE: F-22S AND F-35S TRAIN TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME

File photo  (U.S. Air Force photo taken by Tech. Sgt. Louis Vega Jr.)

The F-35’s stealth is the result of the aircraft’s shape, its engine, the materials used to construct the plane and the “million lines” of software code used to manage its systems, added Cenciotti, who writes The Aviationist blog.

While the expert thinks that it would be difficult to reverse engineer the aircraft from pieces of wreckage recovered from the seabed, he warns that the debris could still offer vital information. “There are still lots of interesting parts that could be studied to get some interesting details: a particular onboard sensor or something that can't be seen from the outside but could be gathered by putting your hands on chunks of the aircraft intakes or exhaust section, on the radar reflectors etc,” he said

The stealth fighter, which has been beset by cost overruns and delays, has a price tag of around $100 million each. The U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps all have versions of the F-35.

THE US ARMY WANTS THE F-35 FOR CLOSE AIR SUPPORT

Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force says the F-35A stealth jet went missing Tuesday while flying off the eastern coast of Aomori. It says the plane disappeared from radar about half an hour after taking off from the Misawa air base with three other F-35As for a flight exercise.

Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters that a search and rescue operation was underway for the missing jet and its pilot. The cause of the mishap was not immediately known.

Iwaya says 12 other F-35s at the Misawa base will be grounded.

SINGLE F-35 'KILLS' DOZENS OF ENEMY FIGHTERS IN AIRWAR LIVE COMBAT 'SCENARIO'

Japan plans to buy 147 U.S.-made F-35s, most of them F-35As, over the next decade.

The U.S. military temporarily grounded its entire fleet of F-35s last year after one of the jets crashed during a training mission in South Carolina.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson, Travis Fedschun and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

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2019-04-09 22:02:35Z
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Israel Elections 2019: Live Updates - The New York Times

• Israelis are voting Tuesday in parliamentary elections that could keep Benjamin Netanyahu, the polarizing, right-wing prime minister, in power, or turn control over to his main rival, Benny Gantz, a newcomer to electoral politics who is seen as a centrist. At stake is the future of both Israel and the Palestinian territories.

[Who is Benny Gantz?]

• The first indication of how the election went is expected after 3 p.m. Eastern Time, when voting ends in Israel and exit polls are released.

• If he wins a fourth consecutive term, Mr. Netanyahu, 69, could make history in a number of ways: In July, he would become Israel’s longest-serving prime minister; he has vowed to annex parts of the West Bank, reversing half a century of policy and setting back prospects for a Palestinian state; and he could also become the first sitting prime minister to be indicted.

• While Mr. Netanyahu has appealed primarily to the right, Mr. Gantz, 59, a retired lieutenant general and former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, has reached out for allies across the political spectrum. He has sought to make Mr. Netanyahu’s expected indictment on corruption charges the main issue.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a polling station in Jerusalem. He could make history if he wins a fourth consecutive term.CreditAriel Schalit/Associated Press

How it works

Voters cast ballots for parties, not candidates. Thirty-nine parties are participating. The percentage of the vote determines a party’s number of seats in the Knesset, or Parliament. Any party needs at least 3.25 percent of the vote for a seat.

Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party and Mr. Gantz’s Blue and White alliance are expected to gain more seats than any other group. But each will fall far short of achieving a 61-seat majority on its own, meaning that a new government will almost certainly be formed by a multiparty coalition.

[See our guide to the Israeli elections.]

Members of Israel’s military were allowed to vote up to 72 hours in advance. The rest of the country’s 6.3 million eligible voters can cast ballots at more than 10,700 polling stations across the country, including hospitals and prisons, between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. (midnight to 3 p.m. Eastern).

Except for diplomats posted abroad, Israeli citizens cannot cast absentee ballots. Those who wish to vote must travel to Israel.

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Benny Gantz, the Blue and White leader, after casting his vote in Rosh Ha’Ayin, Israel.CreditDan Balilty for The New York Times

Possible outcomes

Likud wins the most seats. Mr. Netanyahu’s party might be able to reach a majority with the help of smaller right-wing parties.

Blue and White wins the most seats. Mr. Gantz and his partners might be able to reach a majority with a combination of smaller parties on the left and right.

Unity government of Likud plus Blue and White. While Mr. Gantz has vowed never to serve in a government led by Mr. Netanyahu, there has been speculation that their parties might negotiate to form a unity government if neither can attain the sufficient number of seats. Such a possibility would increase if some smaller parties needed by Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz fail to make the 3.25 percent threshold.

Any party that wins at least 3.25 percent of the vote gets at least three seats in Parliament, but if parties don’t pass that threshold — and many smaller parties do not — their votes are discarded.

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In Jerusalem, the Jewish settlement of Neve Yaakov, in the foreground, is separated from the Palestinian area of al-Ram by a barrier.CreditAhmad Gharabli/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Netanyahu’s ‘gevalt’ grenades

Mr. Netanyahu has shown a penchant for appealing to anti-Arab racism in the finales of Israeli elections, aimed at whipping up the extreme right to fend off challengers and protect his parliamentary majority.

During the 2015 election, Mr. Netanyahu beseeched right-wing voters to cast ballots after a coalition of Israeli Arab parties announced that early voter participation by its supporters had tripled. He posted a video on his Facebook page expressing alarm that Israeli Arabs were “being bused to the polling stations in droves” by left-wing groups.

In what critics are calling a similar appeal to the right in this election, Mr. Netanyahu unexpectedly promised to begin extending Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank if re-elected. The move would almost certainly doom a two-state solution.

[In seeking re-election, Mr. Netanyahu put the West Bank on the ballot.]

Late Monday, he even trotted out his American pollster to attest to his contention that the small number of Likud voters who fail to cast their ballots on Tuesday could cost him the election.

Israelis have a term for Mr. Netanyahu’s late surprises: the “gevalt campaign,” a reference to the Yiddish term for incredulity.

The clock ticks for undecided voters

At lunchtime in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, Snir Moshe, 25, was still mulling his options.

“On the one hand it’s a country of Jews,” he said, expressing fear that a vote for Mr. Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party could lead to the removal of West Bank settlements territorial withdrawals.

On the other hand, said Mr. Moshe, who voted for Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party in 2015, “Blue and White could make social change, economic change. So I have a few more hours to decide.”

There was no reliable data on last-minute waverers, but Mr. Moshe was hardly alone.

Some deliberated between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantz. Others deliberated between a strategic vote for a large party or an ideological vote for a smaller one, but in a neck-and-neck race, many felt they did not have the luxury of voting for a boutique party.

A Hebrew news website, Mako, offered help with an app that quizzed undecided voters about their positions and then offered political guidance.

Miriam Alarkry, 78, had been wavering between Likud and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which she usually voted for. In the end she went with Likud, she said, “because it’s the government.”

By 6 p.m. Tuesday, around 52 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballot, with four hours to go before polls closed. Voter turnout was slightly lower than the 2015 election, in which 54.6 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballot by that hour.

Political analysts said the turnout in Arab areas of Israel, where citizens have become disillusioned with Israeli politics and with their own politicians, appeared to be headed for a historic low.

Taking advantage of the public holiday, many Israelis were out enjoying the sunshine, packing beaches and national parks. Mr. Netanyahu turned up at the seaside in Netanya and called on his supporters to go vote and swim later. Some said they would do so after sundown.

One Tel Aviv eatery was offering Election Day specials: a “hamburgantz” dedicated to Benny Gantz, served with Gouda cheese and a fried egg; and “Bibi cigars” — phyllo pastry rolls stuffed with lamb — a reference to the cigars that the police say Mr. Netanyahu accepted as gifts from wealthy businessmen who sought official favors.

All eyes on Israel’s president

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President Reuven Rivlin is tasked with formally asking one of the party leaders to form a government.CreditAbir Sultan/EPA, via Shutterstock

President Reuven Rivlin is responsible for formally asking one of the party leaders to form a government based on the outcome of the vote and strength of the possible coalitions. Even if Mr. Gantz’s alliance is slightly ahead of Mr. Netanyahu’s, the president could still ask Mr. Netanyahu to form a government if Likud’s likely allies would give him a stronger coalition.

This happened in the 2009 election, when Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud had 27 seats but the rival Kadima party had 28. The Kadima leader, Tzipi Livni, could not form a coalition, but Mr. Netanyahu could. He has been prime minister ever since.

It is less certain what Mr. Rivlin would do if Mr. Netanyahu had a numerical advantage in forming a coalition but Likud itself trailed Mr. Gantz’s alliance by four or five seats. Mr. Gantz’s supporters argued that Mr. Rivlin would feel pressure in that case to acknowledge the people’s most popular choice and allow Mr. Gantz the chance to form a government.

In Gaza, imagining an election, with envy

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The last elections in Gaza were in 2006.CreditShawn Baldwin for The New York Times

Mohammad al-Saptie, 28, has never voted. He envied Israel’s democratic system, he said in Gaza City, as people a few miles away cast their ballots for the fifth time since the last election in Gaza, in 2006.

Mr. al-Saptie, a deliveryman, daydreamed aloud about what a free election might mean for Gaza and how he might choose a party or a candidate to support.

He thought about his 20-month-old daughter, Warda, and about the three wars he has lived through — not counting the 2007 civil war in which the militant group Hamas, which won the 2006 Palestinian elections but had been prevented from taking power by the rival Fatah faction, seized control in Gaza.

“I would vote for a government that can negotiate, make peace and reach a solution with Israel,” Mr. al-Saptie said, “because we do not want blood, murder, death and destruction.”

Like many Palestinians here, Mr. al-Saptie said he was frustrated by Hamas, whose takeover precipitated the Israeli blockade of Gaza that continues to this day. He said he wished Gaza’s various armed factions could be brought under the control of leaders with stronger public support.

“The differences among the people and among leaders are great, and there is hatred,” he said.

His aspirations, he said, are simple: “Security, safety and jobs. We do not want more than this.”

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2019-04-09 16:34:21Z
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Iran’s leaders warn the U.S. after it names the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group - The Washington Post

ISTANBUL — Iran’s leaders on Tuesday warned the United States of serious repercussions after it designated the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

President Trump on Monday announced the decision against the Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s most potent military force, describing the move as a way to “expand the scope and scale of our maximum pressure on the Iranian regime.”

The decision would allow the Trump administration to seek criminal penalties against elements of the Guard, one of the most revered institutions in Iran.

The Revolutionary Guard was established in 1979 to protect the Islamic revolution that had just overthrown the country’s long-ruling monarchy.

Iran’s often-bickering leaders have presented a united front in the face of the U.S. move. On Tuesday, lawmakers in parliament wore olive-green fatigues to demonstrate solidarity with the Guard and opened the session with chants of “Death to America.”

President Hassan Rouhani called the U.S. move a “mistake” and said it would only boost the organization’s popularity, both at home and abroad. “You thought that if you speak against [the Guard], divisions would arise or you could reduce its popularity,” Rouhani said, according to the Mehr News Agency.

He spoke at an event marking National Nuclear Day, during which he also warned that U.S. efforts would not hinder Iran’s “scientific progress.” Iran’s nuclear program, which it says is intended only for peaceful purposes and not for building weapons, has long been of great international concern.

Last year, Trump withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal that Iran struck with world powers in 2015. The pact limited Iran’s nuclear energy program in exchange for widespread sanctions relief.

On Tuesday, Rouhani announced the installation of new centrifuges at the Natanz facility in Isfahan province.

[Trump raises the stakes against Iran, but why?]

The move is not a violation of the nuclear accord, to which Iran is still a party. It allows for the limited production and testing of advanced centrifuges, but without using them to enrich uranium.

But Rouhani signaled Tuesday that Iran may be willing to push the limits.

“If you continue to walk down this road, you will see IR-8 centrifuges in the future,” he said, referring to a more advanced, high-capacity device. “Our patience has a threshold.”

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, held his own event, speaking to members of the Guard and their families and lauding their role in “defending the country and the revolution.”

He denounced the U.S. decision, saying such “plots” will come back to haunt Trump and his administration, according to a transcript of the remarks posted on Khamenei’s website.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, raised the specter of problems in the Persian Gulf, where elements of the Iranian and U.S. navies often confront each other. The waterway carries 20 percent of the world’s oil shipments.

“New incidents may happen,” he said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Read more

What is the Revolutionary Guard?

Crazy-rich Iranians face blowback at a time of sanctions and economic stress

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

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2019-04-09 15:36:54Z
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Israel Elections: How the Country Chooses a Leader and What’s at Stake - The New York Times

Israel’s parliamentary election on Tuesday brings an end to a neck-and-neck campaign that saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the veteran politician of the Israeli right and one of the country’s longest-serving leaders, facing the strongest challenge in years.

Mr. Netanyahu’s tenure has been marked by a collapse of peace talks with the Palestinians, confrontation with Iran, armed conflict with Hamas, and hostility toward what he views as plots to isolate and delegitimize the Jewish state.

But Mr. Netanyahu has also overseen an era of healthy economic growth and stability, thawed relations with Sunni Arab leaders and expanded Israeli trade ties in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

[Read more on Mr. Netanyahu’s ties with President Trump that have emboldened him to take policy risks.]

The prime minister is entangled in corruption scandals that could lead to his indictment. And he faces stiff competition from a new rival, Benny Gantz, the leader of a trio of former generals who could end Mr. Netanyahu’s 10 uninterrupted years as prime minister.

But Israeli elections are complicated and unpredictable, with many parties vying for votes and at times forming opportunistic alliances to secure a parliamentary majority.

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The Blue and White alliance is led by Benny Gantz, center, and two other veteran generals. They have teamed up with a centrist party led by Yair Lapid, left, a former television host and finance minister.CreditDan Balilty for The New York Times

Who are the main challengers to Netanyahu?

Final pre-election polls showed Mr. Gantz’s centrist Blue and White alliance, a coalition named for the colors of the Israeli flag, slightly ahead of Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party, a dominant force on the Israeli right for decades.

Their policy stances are similar, a reflection of how Israeli politics have moved increasingly to the right under Mr. Netanyahu. But while Mr. Gantz has sought allies from across the spectrum, Mr. Netanyahu has reached out to the far right to strengthen his prospects for a parliamentary majority. He even has promised to begin extending sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, which the Palestinians want for a future state, if he is re-elected.

The Blue and White leaders are drawing on their military backgrounds to counter Mr. Netanyahu’s contention that only he can protect Israel. Mr. Gantz and his colleagues have also focused on the corruption accusations against Mr. Netanyahu, his biggest vulnerability, to press their case that new leadership is needed.

They have attracted backing from smaller centrist parties. And what remains of the left-leaning opposition has thrown its support behind Mr. Gantz for prime minister. The Labor Party would be likely to recommend Mr. Gantz for the premiership after the election.

What makes this election different?

Mr. Netanyahu could be indicted. Israel’s attorney general announced last month that he planned to bring charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

A final decision on charges is likely by year’s end. Under the current law, Mr. Netanyahu, if re-elected, would not have to resign until a final conviction, although new legislation or public pressure could force him to step down. Mr. Netanyahu has described the charges as a baseless partisan witch hunt. But with a first sitting prime minister to be charged, Israel would be entering uncharted legal and political terrain.

The uncertainty has worked against Mr. Netanyahu in the prelude to the vote.

“The attorney general’s report has done something that has never happened in Israel’s 70-year history, and that is that a prime minister is under a legal cloud,” said David Makovsky, an expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The election also is the first time that three former heads of the army, the Israel Defense Forces, have united to run for office. The Blue and White alliance is led by Mr. Gantz and two other veteran generals, Gabi Ashkenazi and Moshe Yaalon.

They have teamed up with a well-known centrist party, Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, a former journalist, television host and finance minister. Mr. Gantz has agreed to hand off the prime minister position to Mr. Lapid after two and a half years if their parties win.

While Mr. Netanyahu has a strong record of defending Israel, the Blue and White alliance’s military credentials have made it more difficult for him to attack Mr. Gantz and his colleagues as weak on security.

“The question is, will it neutralize the advantage that Netanyahu has accrued over his previous four terms of being ‘Mr. Security,’” Mr. Makovsky said. “He’s said the words Israelis want to hear: ‘I’ll keep you safe.’”

How does the voting work?

Voters cast ballots for parties, not individual candidates, to fill seats in the 120-member Knesset, or Parliament. The seats are divided proportionally based on the percentage of the vote each party receives.

Any party that wins 3.25 percent or more of the vote gets at least one seat. If parties don’t pass that threshold — and many smaller parties do not — their votes won’t be counted. That will raise the share of seats given to the other parties.

If one party were to win at least 61 seats, it would be entitled to form a government. But this has never happened in Israeli politics. So once the seats have been apportioned, parties try to cobble together coalitions that control a majority of seats.

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An election billboard for the New Right party, with which Likud is expected to align.CreditDan Balilty for The New York Times

What might those alliances look like?

Polls have suggested that Likud and Blue and White will each get about 30 seats — meaning both will be seeking alliances with smaller parties.

Likud is expected to align with a right-wing party known as the New Right, and with an extreme-right alliance known as the Union of Right-Wing Parties, which includes Jewish Power, widely criticized as an extremist, anti-Arab racist party.

Potential Blue and White coalition partners include the Labor Party and the leftist Meretz Party, among others.

[Read about the Palestinian rapper who is urging Arab citizens not to waste their votes by boycotting the elections.]

Will the outcome of the vote be clear immediately?

Probably not.

The president, Reuven Rivlin, has the discretion to give the party leader with the best chance of forming a majority coalition the first opportunity. Typically, but not always, that opportunity goes to the leader of the party with the most votes, who then has 42 days to try.

If that party leader fails, the president turns to another to attempt to create a coalition. So it could take a few months.

It also is possible that the Likud and the Blue and White coalition would join forces and create a national unity government. In theory, Mr. Rivlin could offer both Mr. Gantz and Mr. Netanyahu this opportunity and they could take turns as prime minister.

Mr. Gantz has rejected that idea, vowing that he will not sit on a government with Mr. Netanyahu, though a leaked recording suggested that he might.

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Ayman Odeh, a leading Arab politician, in Nazareth last month. CreditDan Balilty for The New York Times

What about Arab citizens of Israel?

They represent nearly a fifth of the country’s 5.8 million eligible voters, which could give the four Israeli Arab parties a potential kingmaker role. But these parties have never joined a governing coalition in Israel.

And some Israeli Arab voters have vowed to boycott the election, partly in protest of a new law pushed by Mr. Netanyahu declaring Israel as the “nation state of the Jewish people.” Critics have called the law racist and undemocratic.

What about Palestinians in occupied territory?

They are not Israeli citizens and cannot vote in the election. About 4.75 million Palestinians fall into this category, according to the Institute for Middle East Understanding, a Palestinian group in the United States.

Could the election affect a potential peace plan?

Still steeped in secrecy, President Trump’s long-anticipated plan to resolve the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is not much of an issue in the election. Nevertheless, it could be affected.

Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, who has been leading the administration’s efforts to draft the plan, said it would not be made public until after the election.

Many Palestinians already have dismissed the plan — whatever it may contain — because they see Mr. Trump as siding with Israel. But the plan also faces a threat from the parties of the Israeli extreme right, which see any concessions to the Palestinians as unacceptable. If Mr. Netanyahu needs those parties to form a coalition, Mr. Trump’s peace plan may be doomed.

However, if Blue and White wins or forms a national unity government with Likud, that could make way for possible cooperation with the Trump administration on a plan.

David M. Halbfinger, Isabel Kershner and Herbert Buchsbaum contributed reporting.

Read more about the elections in Israel here.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/world/middleeast/elections-israel.html

2019-04-09 15:33:45Z
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