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world news Diabierna 4 Juni 2021

Netanyahu foes push for quick vote to end his 12-year rule

(AP) — Prime Minister dangerous leftist govern-
Benjamin Netanyahu’s ment,” he wrote on Twitter. The anti-Netanyahu bloc
opponents pushed Thurs- announced the coalition
day for a quick parliament The drama riveted Israelis at deal just before a deadline at
vote to formally end his a time when tumult has not midnight Wednesday. The
lengthy rule, hoping to been in short supply: four agreement triggered a com-
head off any last-minute inconclusive elections in two plex process that is likely to
attempts to derail their years followed by an 11-day stretch over the next week.
newly announced coali- war in the Gaza Strip last
tion government. month that was accompanied The coalition has a razor-thin
by mob violence between majority of 61 votes in parlia-
The latest political maneu- Jews and Arabs in cities across ment. Now the question is
vering began just hours af- the country. The country also whether the group’s votes
ter opposition leader Yair is emerging from the coro- will hold together in order
Lapid and his main coalition navirus crisis that caused to name a new parliament
partner, Naftali Bennett, de- deep economic damage and speaker, who would then
clared they had reached a deal exposed tensions between preside over a vote required
to form a new government the secular majority and the to confirm the new govern- Shaked’s home. The prime be a nightmare for some of
and muster a majority in the ultra-Orthodox minority. ment. minister’s Likud party also them.”
120-member Knesset, or par- called for a demonstration
liament. Yet the political debate has If the group can’t manage Thursday night outside the Netanyahu and his support-
The coalition consists of focused squarely on Netan- that, the current speaker, who home of Yamina lawmaker ers called a meeting later
eight parties from across the yahu, who is facing corrup- is a Netanyahu ally, could use Nir Orbach, urging him to Thursday to discuss their
political spectrum with little tion charges — and whether his position to delay the vote quit the coalition. next steps.
in common except the shared he should stay or go. and give Netanyahu more
goal of toppling Netanyahu time to sabotage the coali- That’s a taste of the pressure Under the coalition agree-
after a record-setting 12 years “We never had a coalition like tion. to be expected for lawmak- ment, Lapid and Bennett will
in power. The alliance in- this,” said Hillel Bar Sadeh at ers on the right. And some split the job of prime minis-
cludes hardliners previously a coffee shop in Jerusalem. As the coalition was coming on the left now have time ter in a rotation. Bennett, a
allied with Netanyahu, as “We like to have a new spirit, together in recent days, Ne- to think about whether they former ally of Netanyahu, is
well as center-left parties and we like to have some unity.” tanyahu and his supporters will pay for this partnership to serve the first two years,
even an Arab faction — a first ramped up a pressure cam- in the next election. while Lapid is to serve the fi-
in Israeli politics. The owner of the coffee paign against former hawkish nal two years — though it is
shop, Yosi Zarifi, said he allies, including Bennett and “There will be a lot of pres- far from certain their fragile
Netanyahu lashed out at his trusts that Netanyahu will his No. 2 in the Yamina party, sure, especially on right- coalition will last that long.
foes on Thursday, signal- return to power — and dis- Ayelet Shaked. wingers, especially for re-
ing that he will continue to trusts the coalition. ligious right-wingers,” said The historic deal also in-
exert pressure on former al- Netanyahu accused them of Gideon Rahat, a political cludes a small Islamist party,
lies who joined the coalition. “Everybody is clear that this betraying their values. His science professor at Hebrew the United Arab List, which
“All members of Knesset who trick will not last, there won’t supporters launched vicious University. “They will go to would make it the first Arab
were elected with right-wing be any glue (to keep it togeth- social media campaigns and the synagogue and people party ever to be part of a gov-
votes need to oppose this er) here,” he said. staged noisy protests outside will pressure them. It will erning coalition.

Officials confirm 136 students abducted from Nigeria school

(AP) — Authorities have Gunmen on motorcycles tar- how many students were tak- been able to reach all of the because even before this in-
confirmed that 136 stu- geted Salihu Tanko Islamic en, Niger state government parents to confirm whether cident happened you heard
dents were abducted by School on Sunday, killing issued a statement Thursday their children are back home. people shouting that they
gunmen in northern Ni- one person and abducting putting the toll at 136 pupils were coming, then when it
geria earlier this week, three teachers as well, school missing. Ashiru Adamu Idrisa told re- happened, and you go to the
including some as young owner Umar Idris told The porters his three daughters police station, no action is
as 5 years old, the school’s Associated Press. Idris said the number still were among those taken by taken,” said Rabiu Garkuwa,
owner said Thursday. could be rise, though, be- gunmen, the youngest just 5 parent of two of the kid-
After days of uncertainty of cause school officials have not years old. napped children.
Other preschoolers were left Gunmen have abducted hun-
behind as they could not keep dreds of students in northern
pace when the gunmen hur- Nigeria this year, and the
riedly moved those abducted government has been unable
into the forest. to halt the spate of abductions
for ransom. As a result, many
The school’s pupils range in schools have been forced to
age between 3 and 14, and close due to the concerns
parents are concerned that about the kidnapping risk.
some of the youngest kidnap-
ping victims may be unable Earlier this week, 14 students
to survive in the forest. and staff from Greenfield
University in Kaduna state
Earlier this week, parents were released after spending
of the abducted children more than a month in cap-
criticized the government’s tivity. The gunmen who de-
response to the crisis, and manded hundreds of thou-
pleaded for the return of sands of dollars in ransom
their sons and daughters. had earlier killed five other
students to compel the stu-
“Honestly, I will say that we dents’ parents to raise the
don’t have a government, money.