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Netanyahu's coalition stable ... for now

Despite predictions that the coalition will break up in the coming months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu feels confident that he can get the budget approved at the Knesset, at which time perhaps opposition parties might join the coalition.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) shakes hands with members of the opposition after he was sworn-in as Prime Minister for the fourth time, to lead the 34th Israeli government, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem May 14, 2015. Netanyahu's new rightist coalition government, hobbled from the outset by its razor-thin parliamentary majority, was sworn in late on Thursday amid wrangling within his Likud party over cabinet posts. Picture taken May 14, 2015. REUETRS/Jim Hollander/Pool -
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be flying to Italy for diplomatic talks at the end of August. While there, he will also be paying a visit to the Israel pavilion at Expo 2015, a foremost international event. The Israeli exhibition, called “Fields of Tomorrow,” features advanced technology to provide the world with healthy food. Against this impressive backdrop, in a chilly pavilion that offers a sharp contrast to the Middle East’s August heat, Netanyahu plans to talk about the enormous opportunities that the Israeli economy offers foreign investors.

Almost immediately upon his return home, the state budget for 2015-16 will be submitted to the Knesset. (The 2015 budget is being submitted only in August due to political infighting and the March 17 elections.) Netanyahu will then go oversees again, this time to London, for talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron. Once in London, he will likely hop over to Berlin for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. These talks will focus on the Iran nuclear deal, shortly before it is brought before Congress for approval on Sept. 17.

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