PM’s bloc slips to 3 short of majority, with count at 99% * Israel adds 5 EU nations, but not US, to quarantine list * Media review: Eating word s * Iran triples stockpile

[Visit timesofisrael.com for 24/7 updates]( The Daily Edition Wednesday, March 4, 2020 [With 99% of votes counted, right-wing bloc slips to 58 seats, 3 shy of majority]( By [TOI staff]( [As double envelopes are tallied and updated, Likud climbs to 36 and Blue and White to 33, at expense of Joint List and Shas; results could fluctuate further]( [Blue and White to push law barring indicted PM from serving]( By [Michael Bachner]( [Hazmat-clad election officials begin handling coronavirus votes ahead of count]( By [TOI staff]( Live updates [New EU nations added to quarantine list; PM calls on Israelis to stop handshakes]( By [TOI staff]( [Travelers from Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, but not US, to be quarantined; Netanyahu says the world is in the midst of a pandemic]( Israel media review [58 is the new 60 (which is the new 61): Six things to know for March 4]( By [Joshua Davidovich]( [Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Pundits declare something based on incomplete data, and then are forced to eat their words, learning no lessons along the way]( [Elections 2020 / Polls apart: Likud boosted turnout where it needed to, as Blue and White stalled]( By [Raoul Wootliff]( [Likud campaign chief credits get out the vote data app for huge gains]( By [TOI staff]( [Appearing to dismiss unity, Gantz says he will do all possible to oust Netanyahu]( By [Raoul Wootliff]( [Centrist leader and others rule out joining a government headed by a premier on trial, amid rampant speculation of Likud contacts with potential ‘deserters’ to fill out coalition]( [Analysis / If Gantz wants to win an election, he needs to learn to talk the talk]( By [Raphael Ahren]( [Explainer / All about splits: How can MKs ‘cross the aisle,’ and what price would they pay?]( By [Assaf Shapira]( Analysis [David Horovitz]( [Netanyahu’s election day manna from heaven: The emblematic saga of Amalia, age 4]( [After Yair Lapid blundered across a delightful tot at a Tel Aviv polling station, the PM’s efficient hierarchy had all the tools, skills and reach to capitalize on it]( [Joint List candidate poised to become the first hijab-wearing MK]( By [Adam Rasgon]( [Rivlin likely to task Netanyahu with forming government on first day of trial]( By [TOI staff]( [Lackluster showing sparks calls for ‘soul searching’ in left-wing alliance]( By [TOI staff]( [IDF general met with Netanyahu after visit to coronavirus-stricken Italy]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [IDF operations chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva returned from Italy last month and met with the prime minister before the Health Ministry required self-quarantine]( [Over 1,000 students, soccer fans isolated as 9th-grader diagnosed with virus]( By [TOI staff]( [Israeli doctors volunteer to advise foreigners under coronavirus quarantine]( By [Luke Tress]( [Iran refusing to give answers on 3 undeclared nuclear sites, UN watchdog says]( By [Agencies]( [Confidential IAEA report reveals Tehran has tripled its stockpile of enriched uranium in violation of nuclear deal; agency head demands ‘clarifications’ on site flagged by Israel]( [Iran says ‘no obligation’ to let UN nuclear watchdog into certain sites]( By [AFP]( Analysis [Biden’s stunning turnabout remakes Democratic race]( By [Julie Pace]( [Former vice president scoops up victories on Super Tuesday as party members drift toward seeing him as best alternative to liberal firebrand Sanders]( [Super Tuesday: Biden surges, Bloomberg sinks, Sanders wins California]( By [Steve Peoples and Will Weissert]( [Warren’s future uncertain after loss in home state of Massachusetts]( By [Will Weissert and Zeke Miller]( [Democratic congressman: Pence turned AIPAC speech into a ‘political rally’]( By [Eric Cortellessa]( [Veteran lawmaker Ted Deutch says VP’s address at pro-Israel confab sign that Trump team will politicize Jewish state throughout 2020]( [Bloomberg to reassess campaign after disappointing results — source]( By [KATHLEEN RONAYNE and Alexandra Jaffe]( [Trump to speak at Republican Jewish Coalition conference for 2nd straight year]( By [Ron Kampeas]( Top Ops [Hanne Foighel]( [Joining a community of women without hair]( [I ordered a wig in anticipation of my hair falling out; I won’t be wearing it during chemotherapy]( [Alexander Shapiro]( [I remain hopeful for Israeli politics and society]( [Hundreds of Israeli leaders and thousands of citizens see the value of working across sectoral lines towards a shared common future – together, we can accomplish so much]( [Vice president said infected, as Iran’s virus death toll climbs to 92]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Islamic Republic announces 15 new deaths; Friday prayers in major cities canceled amid outbreak; Saudi Arabia bans citizens and residents from performing Muslim pilgrimage]( [Virus is biological attack on China and Iran, Iranian civil defense chief claims]( By [TOI staff and AFP]( [El Al slashes executive salaries, further cuts back flights to Europe]( By [Luke Tress]( [3 Jewish day schools in New York close due to coronavirus fears]( By [Marcy Oster]( inside story [Ben Harris]( [Passover in the time of coronavirus]( [Cancellations mount at kosher resorts]( [Syrian donates tree in Israel for Italian boy as virus scuppers bar mitzvah]( By [Ben Sales]( [2 Yeshiva University students in self-quarantine due to coronavirus]( By [JTA]( More Headlines [Serbia to open ‘official state office’ in Jerusalem as sign of ‘respect’ to Jews]( By [Raphael Ahren]( [Judo champion who fled Iran over Israel fight gets new Olympic nationality]( By [AP]( [Bon Jovi’s David Bryan on Broadway again, livin’ on a prayer]( By [Mark Kennedy]( [3 assault Jewish man in Brazil, tell him ‘Hitler should’ve killed more Jews’]( By [Marcus M. Gilban]( [Syrian regime announces parliamentary elections in April]( By [AFP]( [US State Department approves sale of problematic KC-46 air refuelers to Israel]( By [AFP]( [Israel picks its 2020 Eurovision entry, sung in four languages]( By [Michael Bachner]( [Mellanox acquires network intelligence firm Titan IC]( By [Luke Tress]( [Egyptian army says high-profile Islamic jihadist executed]( By [Samy Magdy]( [Ronan Farrow dumps publisher for memoir deal with estranged father Woody Allen]( By [AFP]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( © 2020 THE TIMES OF ISRAEL, All Rights Reserved