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Bennett Takes Over

The Knesset on Sunday approved the 36th government in a narrow 6059 vote, making Naftali Bennett Israel’s second-youngest prime minister and the country’s first-ever religious prime minister.

United Arab List MK Saeed Alkharumi abstained from the vote in protest of the planned demolition of illegal Bedouin structures in the Negev.

As former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left his seat and passed that of Bennett, he shook Bennett’s hand in a gesture symbolizing a peaceful transition.

In his speech before the vote, Bennett promised that the new government will be “reasonable and responsible” and work “for all citizens of Israel.”

Prior to the vote, Yesh Atid’s MK Mickey Levy was chosen to replace the outgoing MK Yariv Levin (Likud) as Knesset Speaker. He was elected 67-52.

The new coalition is comprised of Yesh Atid, with 17 seats; Blue and White, with eight seats; Yisrael Beytenu and Labor, with seven seats each; Yamina, New Hope, and Meretz, with six seats each; and Ra’am, with four seats.

Bennett, the new prime minister, hails from the Yamina party; it is the smallest-ever party to lead the government.

Hamas’s New PM

The Hamas terror group announced on Sunday that a new prime minister will take office in Gaza.

The new PM, Issam al-Da’alis, served as a member of the Hamas politburo and head of its “Information Department,” in addition to serving as adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

He succeeds Dr. Mohammed Awad, who resigned after just two years for unclear reasons.

The handover ceremony was held on Sunday, parallel to the vote on Israel’s new government and its swearing-in.

Hamas’ announcement closely followed a decision by Egypt to cancel a Cairo meeting of “Palestinian” groups to discuss a joint Hamas-Palestinian Authority government.

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Tehran: “Iran’s Enemies are Gone”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed doubt that Israel’s policies would change with the country’s change in government.

“Iran’s enemies are gone and powerful Iran is still here,” Reuters quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying. “I don’t think Israel’s policies will change with the new government.”

Israel’s newly-instated Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned that Iran “is approaching a critical point” and that “Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.”

“Israel is not a party to the [international nuclear] deal and will maintain full freedom to act,” Bennett emphasized.

He has also warned the U.S. that “renewing the nuclear deal is a mistake.”

Bibi Wants to “Rescue Israel” from Bennett

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told opposition parties that he intends “to rescue the people and the State of Israel.”

In a Monday meeting, Netanyahu said that Israel’s new government is united by its “fraud, hate, and power-seeking,” and its parties do not share enough values to last its term.

“It can be overthrown on the condition that we act together and with iron discipline. If we squabble, we will not achieve it,” Netanyahu said at the meeting, saying that the opposition parties should “shoot [politically] from the armored vehicle outwards, and hit. If we concentrate our effort outwards, we will bring them down.”

He stressed, “If we work toward that goal we will succeed, but if we clash with each other we won’t.”

Meanwhile, MK Yisrael Eichler of the United Torah Judaism party on Tuesday dismissed Netanyahu’s statement, telling Kol Hai Radio that there is not much to fear from the opposition, since “governments fall due to internal issues.”

In his opinion, the United Arab List is likely to bring down the government.

“They understood that they were fooled in the agreement regarding the Negev, which is why [MK Saeed] Alkharumi (United Arab List) abstained yesterday,” he promised in the interview. “If you destroy their homes, they will bring down the government.”

Mask-Free

Israeli lifted its indoor mask requirement on Tuesday, marking the end of one of the only major coronavirus restrictions remaining in Israel.

Still, there are some exceptions to the new rule: Workers or guests who have not been vaccinated or recovered at welfare institutions, long-term care facilities or homes for the elderly; individuals en route to quarantine; and travelers on a flight.

For now, the Health Ministry did not address schools. In the past, it has said that masks would still be required because the majority of those under 16 have yet to be vaccinated. If the declining trend in morbidity continues and the campaign to vaccinate 12- to15-year-olds, which began last Sunday, succeeds, there would be another discussion to consider dropping the mask requirement in schools as well.

Last Sunday, Israel kicked off its vaccine drive for children aged 12 to 15, with 600,000 eligible for inoculation.

Israel’s mass vaccination drive, which has already given both shots to over half the population, along with lockdown measures, brought down the number of new daily cases (based on a weekly average), from 8,600 at

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the peak of the health crisis to just 19 on Sunday.

At the height of the pandemic, there were 88,000 active cases in the country and 1,228 serious cases; as of Monday, there were 212 active infections and 29 people in serious condition.

Former Mossad Chief Talks

Yossi Cohen, the recently-retired head of the Mossad, spoke on Channel 12’s “Uvda” show about Iran, his plans for the future, his relationship with former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and his role in the normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

In the interview, Cohen hinted that the Mossad may have blown up Iran’s underground centrifuge facility at Natanz and detailed how the Mossad removed Iran’s nuclear archive from where it had been stored in a Tehran warehouse in safes. He also confirmed that Israel had had its sights on top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

When asked where he would take his host, Ilana Dayan, if given the opportunity, Cohen said he would take her to the cellar at Natanz, where “the centrifuges used to spin,” insisting that the cellar “doesn’t look like it used to look.”

“We say very clearly [to Iran]: We won’t let you get nuclear weapons. What don’t you understand?”

Dayan, for her part, said that a “huge quantity of explosives” were built into the marble platform used to balance the centrifuges, noting that “the man who was responsible for these explosions, it becomes clear, made sure to supply to the Iranians the marble foundation on which the cen-

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trifuges are placed. As they install this foundation within the Natanz facility, they have no idea that it already includes a huge quantity of explosives.”

Regarding targeted assassinations, Cohen said simply: “If the man constitutes a capability that endangers the citizens of Israel, he must stop existing.” However, “if he is prepared to change profession and not harm us any longer,” then he may be spared.

Cohen also said that it is “not true” that Iran is “closer than ever” to achieving a nuclear bomb.

On his relationship with Netanyahu, Cohen emphasized that his work to expose Iran was not related to Netanyahu; it was necessary because “it was important to us that the world should see [the material]” and “that it resonate with the Iranian leadership, to say to them, ‘Dear friends, 1, you’ve been penetrated; 2, we are watching you; 3 the era of hiding and lies is over.”

Cohen also said that Netanyahu had never inquired as to whether he was “loyal” to Netanyahu on a personal level but that he knows he “pays a price” for the relationship between them. However, he emphasized, “Mossad work plans are not remotely influenced by the political background.”

Regarding his own future, Cohen said that although he is not planning on running for premiership at the moment, he will not rule it out; polls show that he would be a popular choice among Likud voters, winning 27% of the vote and pushing MK Nir Barkat, who currently leads the polls, down to just 16% from his current 32%.

Nikki Haley Meets with Bibi

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Christians United For Israel (CUFI) founder Pastor John Hagee on Monday night met with former Israeli Prime Minister

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