Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 27 September 2019
Israel’s Netanyahu begins coalition hunt amid deadlock

By TIA GOLDENBERG and breach of trust in a
Associated Press series of scandals and the
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli embattled leader is set to
Prime Minister Benjamin Ne- appear at a hearing next
tanyahu on Thursday be- week on the charges.
gan the daunting task of Netanyahu has denied
trying to cobble together a wrongdoing and on Thurs-
coalition government amid day called on Israel’s at-
political deadlock that torney general to have the
emerged from this month’s hearing broadcast live for
repeat elections, which the sake of “transparency.”
had no clear winner. “After three years of a del-
He now has up to six weeks uge of biased, partial leaks,
to attempt to resolve the it’s time for the public to
political impasse, but his hear everything. My side
odds appear slim. too,” Netanyahu said in a
Even with the support of video statement. “Not only
smaller allies, both Netan- do I have nothing to hide,
yahu and his main chal- I want everything to be
lenger, former army chief heard.” Netanyahu, popu-
Benny Gantz, lack the sup- larly known as Bibi, again
port for the required 61- urged Gantz to join him in
seat parliamentary majority a unity government during
needed to establish a gov- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 25, a rally late Thursday.
ernment. That’s including 2109. “Will you let them break
the support of Netanyahu’s Associated Press apart the Likud? Will you let
traditional ultra-Orthodox tricks. There is no option” ernment, at the end we to sitting with the right-wing them oust the leader of Li-
and religious-nationalist al- other than unity, said Zeev may head to elections for and religious bloc that Ne- kud?” he told the raucous
lies. On Thursday, the two Elkin, a lawmaker with Ne- a third time.” tanyahu says he’s com- crowd, which began sing-
largest parties were jock- tanyahu’s Likud party. He Blue and White wants mitted to bringing into any ing “Bibi, king of Israel.”
eying ahead of a planned told Israeli Army Radio that Gantz to lead any unity government he forms. Gantz dug in his heels Thurs-
meeting by their negoti- if Gantz’s Blue and White government and refuses to Looming large over the day afternoon, repeating
ating teams the following party “continues to rule out sit in a coalition with Netan- political jostling is Netan- his objection to sitting with
day, with each side blam- Netanyahu on a personal yahu so long as he faces yahu’s legal woes. Israel’s Netanyahu. He called on
ing the other for the stale- basis and continues to rule likely indictment for a se- attorney general has rec- Likud to negotiate “with no
mate. “There are no rab- out certain parties from sit- ries of corruption scandals. ommended charging Ne- pre-conditions” to avoid a
bits in the hat. There are no ting in that same unity gov- Blue and White also objects tanyahu with bribery, fraud third election.q

Sri Lanka’s governing party

picks Premadasa as candidate

The United National Party’s
official Twitter account
said a working committee
endorsed the 52-year-old
Premadasa. Premadasa is
the son of former Sri Lankan
President Ranasinghe Pre-
madasa, who was assas-
sinated by now-defeated
Tamil Tiger separatists in
1993. Wickremesinghe re-
In this Nov. 12, 2018 file photo, tained the party leader-
Sri Lankan lawmaker Sajith ship, but his prominence
Premadasa, center, leaves
the supreme courts complex both within the party and
after attending a filing in of a the government is likely to
petition in Colombo, Sri Lanka. wane with a victory for Pre-
Associated Press madasa in the presiden-
By KRISHAN FRANCIS tial election. Premadasa’s
Associated Press nomination gives a new
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) face to the party, which has
— Sri Lanka’s governing long been considered pro-
party on Thursday named West, pro-capitalist and
its charismatic deputy lead- distant from the grassroots.
er, Sajith Premadasa, as its It will also give the party a
candidate in November’s nationalistic appearance,
presidential election, end- with Premadasa presenting
ing a long tussle with the himself as a devout Bud-
party leader, Prime Minister dhist Sinhalese compared
Ranil Wickremesinghe, over to Wickremesinghe’s liberal
the nomination. and pro-West outlook. q