Israel election: Benjamin Netanyahu declares victory

Thousands of Israeli protesters rally outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, days ahead of a general election that could see the long-standing leader removed from power.

The 39th weekly protest against Israeli PM Netanyahu's alleged corruption and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic saw thousands gather in Jerusalem with only three days left for the parliamentary elections.

Despite giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the opportunity to form a government, Israel's president said "no candidate has a realistic chance" after the country's latest inconclusive election.

Germans are in no rush to book their summer holidays due to the coronavirus pandemic and the tourism industry is blaming lawmakers for talking down the prospects of foreign travel.

Environmental champion Greta Thunberg assails powerful politicians for "ignoring" climate change, as she demands an end to fossil fuel subsidies and implored the current generation of leaders to take the crisis more seriously. "How long do you honestly believe people in power like you will get away with it?" the Swedish activist said via videolink in a biting rebuke to a US House panel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a stampede that killed at least 44 people at a Jewish pilgrimage site was one of the "worst" disasters in Israel's history. The nighttime disaster struck after pilgrims thronged to Meron at the site of the reputed tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second-century Talmudic sage, where mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews mark the Lag BaOmer holiday.

The prime minister could now have to take his Likud party into opposition for the first time in 12 years.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that they pay a "heavy price" for firing rockets from Gaza into Israel. Hamas Islamists said they had fired 130 rockets towards Tel Aviv on Tuesday, unleashing a massive barrage on Israel's economic hub, in retaliation for an Israeli strike on a 12-storey tower near Gaza's coast.

US President Joe Biden says that Israel has a right to defend itself, but after speaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he hopes violent clashes with Palestinians will end "sooner than later." He adds that his national security staff has also spoken with the Egyptians, Saudis and Emiratis.

A new generation of female politicians in Kosovo are pushing hard for equality in a country where few women own property yet alone work outside of their homes. Also an UN report reveals millions of women across dozens of developing nations are denied control over their own bodies such as the right to use contraception or seeking health care. Annette Young talks to Marie Ba from the Ouagadougou Partnership which promotes family planning in nine Francophone countries in West Africa.

Israeli papers weigh in on Benjamin Netanyahu's resistance to growing calls for de-escalation in Gaza. We also take a look at a Washington Post editorial opposing the idea of offering people in the US money or other incentives in order to get vaccinated against Covid-19. We finish with the Guardian telling us about an unorthodox and smelly tourist attraction in San Francisco.

Naftali Bennett took a major step toward ending the 12-year rule of Benjamin Netanyahu, announcing that he would try to form a unity government with his opponents.