US employment cost index 3.6% up in year to June 2025    Egypt's Suez Canal marks $153b in revenues since nationalisation    Egypt welcomes Canada, Malta's decision to recognise Palestinian state    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Sterling set for sharpest monthly drop since 2022    Egypt, Brazil sign deal to boost pharmaceutical cooperation    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Egypt exports first high-tech potato seeds to Uzbekistan after opening market    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Sisi sends letter to Nigerian president affirming strategic ties    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Leading candidate withdraws from Israeli presidential race
Published in Ahram Online on 07 - 06 - 2014

Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, one of two leading candidates to succeed Shimon Peres as Israel's next head of state, withdrew from the race on Saturday, a day after police questioned him under caution over a loan he had received.
The move appeared to smooth the path to the presidency of Reuven Rivlin, a former speaker of parliament with whom Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had a rocky relationship.
Ben-Eliezer, a former general and defence minister and a veteran lawmaker, denied any wrongdoing and said he had been "deliberately targeted", but declined to say who might have tried to sabotage his campaign.
"From the moment I announced my candidacy for the post, there has been an incessant, timed campaign of smears and slander whose intention was to prevent me standing for the post of president. With a heavy heart, I have decided to withdraw from the race," Ben-Eliezer said in his statement.
Legislators will elect a new president on June 10, with five candidates in the race. When announcing the date last month, speaker Yuli Edelstein said the campaign had begun with smears against several contenders.
"The post of president of Israel is important, and it is aimed at healing rifts in the nation ... This hasn't been the kind of campaign we wanted to see," Edelstein said.
Netanyahu raised eyebrows last month when he floated the idea of abolishing the presidency, but the suggestion angered lawmakers across the political spectrum and was flatly rejected by senior ministers.
Political Independence
Some political analysts linked the manoeuvre to the candidacy of Rivlin, who is a member of Netanyahu's Likud party like Ben-Eliezer, but has a reputation for political independence. An opinion poll last week made him the front-runner.
A Rivlin victory in the campaign to succeed the 90-year-old Peres could make Netanyahu more vulnerable in a general election. Israeli law grants the head of state - whose duties are usually largely ceremonial - the power to choose a legislator to try to put together a government.
No one party has ever won an outright parliamentary majority in a national poll, making the president a key player in coalition-building.
In a letter to fellow legislators on Monday, Rivlin, 74, stressed "the importance of a president as a builder of bridges between parties in dispute".
"If the Knesset is the home of debate, controversy and decision, President's House is the home of cooperation, dialogue and compromise," he wrote.
Rivlin, a lawyer, was first elected to parliament in 1988 and served as communications minister between 2001 and 2003. Others standing are former finance minister Meir Sheetrit and Nobel chemistry laureate Dan Shechtman.
Peres, Israel's most respected statesman, has been president since 2007. He took over from Moshe Katsav, who was convicted of rape in 2010 and is serving a seven-year prison term.
The list of candidates is completed by Dalia Itzik, a centrist lawmaker, who as Knesset speaker was caretaker president when Katsav stepped down, and Dalia Dorner, a retired Supreme Court justice.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/103137.aspx


Clic here to read the story from its source.