Politics
Israel's prime minister has sacked his finance and justice ministers and declared he wants parliament dissolved, triggering an early general election. The BBC reports:
Benjamin Netanyahu said Yair Lapid and Tzipi Livni had "harshly attacked" both himself and the coalition government. Mr Netanyahu explained that he wanted an election two years early to win "a clear mandate to lead Israel".
Disagreements over a series of economic and political policies have strained relations within the coalition. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu said it was "impossible" to lead the government with the current coalition, describing Ms Livni and Mr Lapid's activities as a "putsch".
"I will not tolerate an opposition within the government anymore," he said. "I will not tolerate ministers attacking government policy from within the government, attacking its leader, motivated by political interests, and being irresponsible at a national level."
Unfettered by the office he held for seven years, former president Shimon Peres has lashed out at the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they have moved Israel further away from peace and security. The Jerusalem Post reports:
“Do you remember the slogan that Bibi used in the past [in the 1996 elections versus then prime minister Peres] that said something like ‘since Peres does not deliver peace, does not deliver security, and brings us fear...we have to change Peres.’ I suggest he reread what he said back then,” Peres said in a recent interview with The Jerusalem Post ahead of his appearance next week at the Post’s annual Diplomatic Conference in Jerusalem.
“The challenge that Israel faces is to understand that peace will not come to us. We have to go to peace. Muhammad did not come to the mountain. The mountains will not come to Muhammad. We have to be the initiator of peace and not say ‘since they don’t do, I shall not do,’ he added.
