Israel moved towards a new election on Monday (May 27) as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to form a government following a national ballot just last month remained deadlocked. In a preliminary vote, parliament decided to dissolve itself. In order to disperse and set an election date, legislators would still have to hold a final vote, likely to take place on Wednesday.

Israel election: Israel moves closer to new election as Netanyahu struggles to form govt

Watch current reports of Israel election by Daniele Pagani, West-Asia chief of WION from Israel. Watch complete video to get proper details.

Will Israeli PM Netanyahu secure 5th term?

Here's all you need to know about the Prime Minister of Israel since 2009, Benjamin Netanyahu, his rise as a politician and his reign and his foreign policy.

Gravitas: All you need to know about Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition stays intact; PM denies reports of early polls

A day before the inauguration of United States' embassy in Jerusalem, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump for recognising the city as country's capital. Taking to Twitter, the Israel PM said President Trump is "making history".

"President Trump is making history. We are deeply grateful for his bold decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to move the embassy there tomorrow!" he tweeted.&nbsp;

To inaugurate the embassy, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan is leading a 250-member strong delegation, which also includes Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Reportedly, Kushner has been given the task of restoring peace talks between Israel and Palestine, which came to a standstill following President Trump's controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December last year.

The decision has stalled the US-led peace process and had caused outrage in the Arab world with Palestinian leaders rejecting Washington D.C's involvement in brokering a resolution to the age-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The State of Palestine seeks all of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza territories for an independent state.

Jerusalem is considered a sacred place, which is home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. However, it is also a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as a capital of its future state.&nbsp;

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
President Trump is making history. We are deeply grateful for his bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the embassy there tomorrow! ???? <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://t.co/AkXk010v1L">pic.twitter.com/AkXk010v1L</a>
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) <a href="https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/995731677887582209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The United States will be moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem today. 'We are deeply grateful for his bold decision,' Netanyahu tweeted

A day before the inauguration of United States' embassy in Jerusalem, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump for recognising the city as country's capital. Taking to Twitter, the Israel PM said President Trump is "making history". "President Trump is making history. We are deeply grateful for his bold decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to move the embassy there tomorrow!" he tweeted. To inaugurate the embassy, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan is leading a 250-member strong delegation, which also includes Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Reportedly, Kushner has been given the task of restoring peace talks between Israel and Palestine, which came to a standstill following President Trump's controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December last year. The decision has stalled the US-led peace process and had caused outrage in the Arab world with Palestinian leaders rejecting Washington D.C's involvement in brokering a resolution to the age-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The State of Palestine seeks all of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza territories for an independent state. Jerusalem is considered a sacred place, which is home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. However, it is also a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as a capital of its future state. President Trump is making history. We are deeply grateful for his bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the embassy there tomorrow! ???? @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/AkXk010v1L — Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 13, 2018 ×

As US moves embassy to Jerusalem, Netanyahu says Trump 'making history'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israel&#39;s envoy to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to officially announce the country&#39;s withdrawal from the organisation.

This is the first substantive action Israel has taken since it decided to leave UNESCO in October.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said Friday that the decision was based on the UN cultural agency&#39;s &quot;systematic attacks&quot; on the Jewish state and &quot;attempts to disconnect Jewish history from the land of Israel.&quot;

Nahshon said the official letter of departure will be submitted after December 25 and then Israel will leave the organization by the end of 2018.

Netanyahu announced his country will follow the United States to pull out of UNESCO in October. He hailed US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&rsquo;s decision &quot;brave and moral&quot;, and accused the organization of becoming a &quot;theater of the absurd&quot; because instead of preserving history, it is twisting it.

 
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israel's envoy to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to officially announce the country's withdrawal from the organisation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israel's envoy to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to officially announce the country's withdrawal from the organisation. This is the first substantive action Israel has taken since it decided to leave UNESCO in October. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said Friday that the decision was based on the UN cultural agency's "systematic attacks" on the Jewish state and "attempts to disconnect Jewish history from the land of Israel." Nahshon said the official letter of departure will be submitted after December 25 and then Israel will leave the organization by the end of 2018. Netanyahu announced his country will follow the United States to pull out of UNESCO in October. He hailed US President Donald Trump’s decision "brave and moral", and accused the organization of becoming a "theater of the absurd" because instead of preserving history, it is twisting it.

Israel to quit UNESCO

Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday Donald Trump was expected to visit the Palestinian territories &quot;soon&quot; and that he was ready to meet Israel&#39;s prime minister as part of the US president&#39;s peace efforts.

Trump is expected in Israel later this month as part of his first foreign trip and the Palestinian president said &quot;we are looking forward to his visit soon to Bethlehem&quot; in the occupied West Bank, with speculation it will occur on May 23.

&quot;We told him that we were ready to collaborate with him and meet the Israeli PM (Benjamin Netanyahu) under his auspices to build peace,&quot; Abbas told reporters during talks with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Abbas met Trump in Washington last week for their first face-to-face talks.

Trump announced last week that his first foreign trip as president will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican -- the spiritual centres of Islam, Judaism and Catholicism.

The stop in Israel is expected on May 22, though it has not been officially confirmed.

A senior Trump aide last week did not rule out the possibility of a presidential visit to the West Bank but said that it was likely to be contingent on security and Abbas taking concrete steps toward peace.

Trump has been seeking ways to restart moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

As he hosted Abbas in Washington, Trump confidently predicted that a peace agreement was within grasp, brushing aside the complexities of a decades-old conflict that has bedevilled successive US leaders.

Embassy move&nbsp;

Abbas said Tuesday that &quot;we told him again of our commitment to a peace based on justice, with international resolutions and the two-state solution as references.&quot;

Trump has however sent mixed signals over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He backed away from the US commitment to the two-state solution -- Israel and an independent Palestinian state side-by-side -- when he met Netanyahu in February.

He said he would support a single state if it led to peace, delighting Israeli right-wingers who want to see their country annexe most of the occupied West Bank.

Trump also vowed during his campaign to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem, a prospect that alarmed Palestinians but which has been put on the back burner for now.

At the same time, he has urged Israel to hold back on settlement building in the West Bank, a longstanding concern of Palestinians and much of the world.

One of Trump&#39;s top advisers, Jason Greenblatt, held wide-ranging talks with both Israelis and Palestinians during a visit in March.

(AFP)

Trump is expected in Israel later this month as part of his first foreign trip and the Palestinian president said 'we are looking forward to his visit soon to Bethlehem'

Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday Donald Trump was expected to visit the Palestinian territories "soon" and that he was ready to meet Israel's prime minister as part of the US president's peace efforts. Trump is expected in Israel later this month as part of his first foreign trip and the Palestinian president said "we are looking forward to his visit soon to Bethlehem" in the occupied West Bank, with speculation it will occur on May 23. "We told him that we were ready to collaborate with him and meet the Israeli PM (Benjamin Netanyahu) under his auspices to build peace," Abbas told reporters during talks with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Abbas met Trump in Washington last week for their first face-to-face talks. Trump announced last week that his first foreign trip as president will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican -- the spiritual centres of Islam, Judaism and Catholicism. The stop in Israel is expected on May 22, though it has not been officially confirmed. A senior Trump aide last week did not rule out the possibility of a presidential visit to the West Bank but said that it was likely to be contingent on security and Abbas taking concrete steps toward peace. Trump has been seeking ways to restart moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. As he hosted Abbas in Washington, Trump confidently predicted that a peace agreement was within grasp, brushing aside the complexities of a decades-old conflict that has bedevilled successive US leaders. Embassy move Abbas said Tuesday that "we told him again of our commitment to a peace based on justice, with international resolutions and the two-state solution as references." Trump has however sent mixed signals over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He backed away from the US commitment to the two-state solution -- Israel and an independent Palestinian state side-by-side -- when he met Netanyahu in February. He said he would support a single state if it led to peace, delighting Israeli right-wingers who want to see their country annexe most of the occupied West Bank. Trump also vowed during his campaign to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem, a prospect that alarmed Palestinians but which has been put on the back burner for now. At the same time, he has urged Israel to hold back on settlement building in the West Bank, a longstanding concern of Palestinians and much of the world. One of Trump's top advisers, Jason Greenblatt, held wide-ranging talks with both Israelis and Palestinians during a visit in March. (AFP)

Abbas says ready to meet Israel PM as part of Trump peace efforts

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Samsung Electronic&nbsp;Co Ltd&#39;s investigation into what caused some Galaxy Note 7s to catch fire has concluded that the battery was the main reason, a person familiar with the matter said.&nbsp;

The world&#39;s biggest smartphone maker will likely announce the results of the investigation on January 23, a day before it announces detailed fourth-quarter earnings results, said the person who was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter and declined to be identified.&nbsp;

The firm will also announce new measures it is taking to avoid a repeat of the product safety failures in its future devices, the person said.&nbsp;A Samsung spokesman declined to comment.

After one of the biggest product safety failures in tech history, the company is keen to reassure that its devices are safe ahead of the launch of flagship Galaxy S8 smartphones expected sometime in the first half of this year.&nbsp; 
Investors and analysts say it is critical for Samsung to provide a detailed, convincing explanation on what went wrong with the Note 7 phones and how it will prevent such problems from recurring.

The source said&nbsp;that Samsung was able to replicate the fires during its investigation and that the cause could not be explained by hardware design or software-related matters. Samsung was forced to scrap the Note 7 smartphones in October after failing to fix the problems following an initial recall, resulting in&nbsp;$5.2 billion&nbsp;blow to its operating profit over three quarters.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

A Reuters cameraman at Netanyahu's official residence, where the questioning took place, said investigators were on the scene for 3 hours

Samsung Electronic Co Ltd's investigation into what caused some Galaxy Note 7s to catch fire has concluded that the battery was the main reason, a person familiar with the matter said. The world's biggest smartphone maker will likely announce the results of the investigation on January 23, a day before it announces detailed fourth-quarter earnings results, said the person who was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter and declined to be identified. The firm will also announce new measures it is taking to avoid a repeat of the product safety failures in its future devices, the person said. A Samsung spokesman declined to comment. After one of the biggest product safety failures in tech history, the company is keen to reassure that its devices are safe ahead of the launch of flagship Galaxy S8 smartphones expected sometime in the first half of this year. Investors and analysts say it is critical for Samsung to provide a detailed, convincing explanation on what went wrong with the Note 7 phones and how it will prevent such problems from recurring. The source said that Samsung was able to replicate the fires during its investigation and that the cause could not be explained by hardware design or software-related matters. Samsung was forced to scrap the Note 7 smartphones in October after failing to fix the problems following an initial recall, resulting in $5.2 billion blow to its operating profit over three quarters. (Reuters)

Israeli police question Netanyahu for third time in criminal case

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday dismissed as &quot;futile&quot; an international conference in Paris seeking to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

&quot;The conference convening today in Paris is a futile conference,&quot; he told ministers at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

&quot;It was coordinated between the French and the Palestinians with the aim of imposing upon Israel conditions that are incompatible with our national needs,&quot; he said.

Netanyahu&#39;s government has bitterly opposed the conference, saying only direct talks with the Palestinians can end the long-running conflict.

The Palestinians have welcomed the multilateral approach, saying years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation of the West Bank.

The conference is being held without either the Israelis or the Palestinians, but Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will meet French President Francois Hollande in the coming weeks to be briefed on the outcome, French diplomats said.

Netanyahu declined a similar invitation, they said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault formally opened the assembly of foreign ministers and representatives from around 70 countries and international organisations.

&quot;We are here to reiterate strongly that the two-state solution is the only one possible,&quot; Ayrault said.

The conference comes just five days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed unstinting support for Israel.

Israel fears measures discussed at the conference could be taken to the UN Security Council before Trump takes office.

In a break with previous administrations, Trump has pledged to recognise Jerusalem as Israel&#39;s capital and relocate the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Abbas warned Saturday that such a move could &quot;bury the hopes for a two-state solution&quot;.

The city&#39;s status is one of the thorniest issues in the conflict, which is why foreign embassies are currently based in Tel Aviv.

The Palestinians regard Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital.

Hard-line Israeli lawmakers, including some from Netanyahu&#39;s Likud party, have said Trump&#39;s win represents an opportunity to quash the chance of Palestinians obtaining an independent state.

Netanyahu, who says he still supports a two-state solution, appeared in his comments on Sunday to be looking forward to the impending change in the White House.

&quot;This conference is among the last spasms of yesterday&#39;s world,&quot; he said. &quot;Tomorrow will look different and tomorrow is very close.&quot; 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Israel says only direct talks with the Palestinians can end the long-running conflict

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday dismissed as "futile" an international conference in Paris seeking to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process. "The conference convening today in Paris is a futile conference," he told ministers at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. "It was coordinated between the French and the Palestinians with the aim of imposing upon Israel conditions that are incompatible with our national needs," he said. Netanyahu's government has bitterly opposed the conference, saying only direct talks with the Palestinians can end the long-running conflict. The Palestinians have welcomed the multilateral approach, saying years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation of the West Bank. The conference is being held without either the Israelis or the Palestinians, but Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will meet French President Francois Hollande in the coming weeks to be briefed on the outcome, French diplomats said. Netanyahu declined a similar invitation, they said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault formally opened the assembly of foreign ministers and representatives from around 70 countries and international organisations. "We are here to reiterate strongly that the two-state solution is the only one possible," Ayrault said. The conference comes just five days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed unstinting support for Israel. Israel fears measures discussed at the conference could be taken to the UN Security Council before Trump takes office. In a break with previous administrations, Trump has pledged to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the US embassy there from Tel Aviv. Abbas warned Saturday that such a move could "bury the hopes for a two-state solution". The city's status is one of the thorniest issues in the conflict, which is why foreign embassies are currently based in Tel Aviv. The Palestinians regard Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital. Hard-line Israeli lawmakers, including some from Netanyahu's Likud party, have said Trump's win represents an opportunity to quash the chance of Palestinians obtaining an independent state. Netanyahu, who says he still supports a two-state solution, appeared in his comments on Sunday to be looking forward to the impending change in the White House. "This conference is among the last spasms of yesterday's world," he said. "Tomorrow will look different and tomorrow is very close." (AFP)

Israel PM Netanyahu slams 'futile' Paris peace conference

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