The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has informed President Shimon Peres that he succeeded in forming a government. His coalition agreed after seven weeks of negotiations will be sworn in on Monday. It includes the centrist Yesh Atid and the pro-settler Jewish Home Parties but for the first time in a decade excludes ultra-orthodox Jewish parties. The U.S. president arrives in Israel on Wednesday.BBC News.___________________________________________________________________________________________.In an interview with the Saudi Arabia owned Al Arabiya TV, a man identified as Major General Mohammed Izz al-din Khalouf said the move had been planned for some time. High level defections from the Syrian army have been rare during the two-year uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
