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Less than a week after Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc emerged victorious in Israel’s national election, US President Joe Biden phoned the Likud leader Monday night to congratulate him on his decisive win.
According to both Israeli and American sources, during the eight-minute phone call, President Biden commended Israel for its “free and fair elections” and told Netanyahu that the two countries will “make history together.”
For his part, Netanyahu told Biden that he foresees the conclusion of “more historic peace agreements” in the future and that his “commitment to our alliance and our relationship is stronger than ever.”
The two leaders agreed to speak again upon the conclusion of the government formation process.
Soon after speaking to Biden, Netanyahu also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky congratulated the presumptive Israeli premier on his electoral win while Netanyahu promised to “seriously examine the Ukraine issue” in the near future.
I had a phone call with @netanyahu. I congratulated him on winning the elections and wished him a successful formation of the new government. I expressed hope that the level of 🇺🇦-🇮🇱 interaction will correspond to the security challenges facing our countries.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 7, 2022
Aside from Presidents Biden and Zelensky, Netanyahu has also received congratulatory messages from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, India, Hungary and Canada.
Following Israel’s parliamentary election on November 1, Netanyahu’s coalition of right-wing and religious parties gained 64 seats, Yair Lapid’s center-left coalition attained 51 seats and the non-aligned Arab Hadash-Ta’al electoral list gained 5 seats.
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An Israeli man who was stabbed two weeks ago in a Palestinian terror attack has passed away after his condition deteriorated.
Shalom Sofer (55) was stabbed in the stomach after leaving a store in the Palestinian village of Al Funduq in the northern West Bank, near the Jewish community of Kedumim.
Sofer was able to drive himself to a junction, where he received emergency medical treatment before being transferred to the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan.
After an extensive search, the Palestinian terrorist was caught by Israeli security forces hours after the attack and was handed over to the authorities for further questioning.
This is Shalom Sofer, another victim of Palestinian terror. Shalom – whose name means peace – was stabbed two weeks ago and succumbed to his injuries last night.
May his memory be a blessing 🕯️ pic.twitter.com/VpTidmdiEY
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) November 8, 2022
Shalom Sofer is the latest Israeli victim of a wave of violence and terrorism that has been on the rise since earlier this year.
Following a number of lethal terror attacks between February and May 2022, Israel initiated Operation Break the Wave, a coordinated effort to target Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank.
On Monday night, eight suspected Palestinian terrorists were arrested by Israeli forces as part of Break the Wave.
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Speaking before the UN COP27 climate conference in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El Sheikh on Monday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told those assembled that Israel is willing to lead the regional fight against climate change.
Advocating for cooperation between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Herzog declared that “This state of emergency demands we work together. Not tomorrow – today. Let us turn the climate emergency into an opportunity to address 20th-century conflicts, thereby advancing desperately needed 21st-century collaborations. Let us leverage vital regional partnerships as a path towards inclusivity, stability and prosperity, to form this shared, Renewable Middle East.”
As evidence for Israel’s ongoing environmental cooperation with its neighbors, Herzog pointed to a UAE-brokered agreement that was reached last year where Israel will supply Jordan with desalinated water in exchange for solar energy.
In addition to his call for regional cooperation, Herzog also reiterated Israel’s plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, a proposal that was first put forward at last year’s climate conference by then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Earlier in the day, Herzog inaugurated the Israeli pavilion, the Jewish state’s first ever one to appear at the UN climate conference. The last time an Israeli pavilion was set up on Egyptian soil was at a business conference in 1985.
President @Isaac_Herzog met with UAE President HH Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed at #COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, today. They discussed Israeli-Emirati cooperation on climate issues and regional developments in the Middle East.🇮🇱🤝🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/7Cb0PZDYgB
— Office of the President of Israel (@IsraelPresident) November 7, 2022
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Energean, an oil and gas drilling company focused on offshore drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, recently announced that a preliminary analysis shows the existence of 13.3 billion cubic meters of gas at the Zeus exploration site, off the coast of Israel.
In addition, Energean updated its estimate for the adjacent Athena exploration site, raising it from 8 billion cubic meters of gas to 11.75 billion cubic meters. The Athena site can be linked to the Israeli market via the production vessel that is stationed at the Karish gas field.
In recent months, gas exploration off the coast of Israel has been a hot topic as a decade-long dispute between the Jewish state and Lebanon over territorial waters came to a head, with both countries claiming rights to the disputed waters.
Last month, a US-brokered maritime deal was reached between the two countries that saw the Karish gas field recognized as Israel’s while Lebanon would have access to the Qana gas field.
Breaking: Energean PLC has announced a new commercial natural gas discovery of 13 billion cubic meters off the shore of #Israelhttps://t.co/CjOPSFPTga pic.twitter.com/7w2mqo4EwF
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) November 7, 2022
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Credit: DEBBIE HILL/AFP via Getty Images
