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Reacting to political opposition to plan for light rail operations on Saturday, Labor leader says ‘she is not afraid’ and will continue work on proposal
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel.
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.
Amid threats, boosted security provided to Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli
Transportation Minister and Labor leader Merav Michaeli is being given boosted security amid a wave of threats against her.
Her party says that Michaeli’s security detail has been enlarged “in light of increased threats” against her.
The minister drew considerable ire last week when she announced that the future light rail in the Tel Aviv area will operate on Shabbat, something deeply unpopular with many in the religious sectors.
In a video statement, Michaeli recounts many of the harsh statements against the move, saying: “None of these people scare me,” and vowing to move ahead with the plan.
Meretz, Labor parties sign surplus-vote agreement
Meretz and the Labor party sign a surplus-vote agreement, a common practice among politically aligned parties in the run-up to elections.
Meretz Secretary General Tomer Resnick says the agreement will help the two parties form a government under Yesh Atid leader Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
“Meretz will be there all the way, as a strong left wing in the ‘change government’ led by Lapid,” Resnick says, adding that “together we will establish a responsible government with our partners” and leave Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right partner Itamar Ben Gvir in the opposition.
The center-left Labor party says the agreement will strengthen the parties of what it calls the “democratic bloc,” adding that the last election’s surplus votes agreement delivered an additional seat to Meretz.
According to surplus-vote agreements — which need to be finalized with the Central Elections Committee by October 21 — the party that is closest to an additional Knesset seat can sweep surplus votes from its agreement partner and use them to complete the numbers necessary for the additional seat.
High Court rejects petition calling for investigation of Likud over Silman reserved spot
The High Court rejects a petition calling to criminally investigate the Likud party over improper behavior.
The petition was filed by the Movement for Quality Government, which called for an investigation into Likud for granting a reserved spot on its list to former Yamina MK Idit Silman.
The group charges that Likud promised her a reserved spot in exchange for her working to bring down the outgoing government, something that is illegal.
Last month Meretz asked the Central Elections Committee to disqualify Silman from running, on similar grounds, but the request was rejected. Meretz vowed to appeal.
Russia says it will ‘consult’ locals on annexed Ukraine regions’ borders
Russia plans to confer with residents in two Moscow-annexed regions in Ukraine while determining the exact borders of the areas to be integrated into Russia, the Kremlin says.
“We are going to continue to consult the populations of these regions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says, referring to the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that are partially controlled by the Ukrainian military. “No doubt, any configuration will depend only on the will of the people who live in a particular territory,” he says.
Iran’s Khamenei accuses US, Israel of engineering ongoing ‘riots’
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accuses arch-foes the United States and Israel of fomenting unrest in the Islamic Republic following the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini.
“I say clearly that these riots and the insecurity were engineered by America and the occupying, false Zionist regime, as well as their paid agents, with the help of some traitorous Iranians abroad,” he says in his first public comment on the unrest sparked by Amini’s death.
