Moshe Gafni to take over at helm of ultra-Orthodox party, with Litzman in second spot; Shas No. 2 Yitzhak Cohen to retire from politics

Bill to up fines for rule-breakers stalls, as Gantz's party rejects Likud compromise with Haredim on closing rebellious schools; ultra-Orthodox MK says party smearing Haredi public

The focus of growing anger, and increasingly frustrated in turn at the government's lax enforcement of virus rules, the ultra-Orthodox are now a political time bomb

Survey indicates opposition to ultra-Orthodox factions amid frustration over lockdown infractions by parts of the community

Ignoring pleas by Bnei Brak residents, fire crew stationed down the street refused to intervene, citing police orders; fire burned through power lines, approached buildings

Widespread power outage in Bnei Brak as blazing vehicle burns through power cables; mayor blames police for violence and calls on them to leave city, is also attacked by crowd

Fireworks launched toward officers, dumpsters burned in the street, as rioting again breaks out in ultra-Orthodox city between police, demonstrators opposed to lockdown rules

The better the Yesh Atid head does on election day, the more likely Netanyahu is to win; but if Sa'ar leads the anti-Netanyahu bloc, Likud will lose a potent election-day tactic

Survey underscores likelihood of mergers before Feb. 4 deadline; neither Netanyahu nor his rivals projected to be able to form coalition

Fusions of like-minded slates among Netanyahu's increasingly splintered opponents would help at least some of them avoid oblivion on election day