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Tel Aviv – The rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within the right-wing Likud party, Gideon Sa’ar, announced on Wednesday his resignation from Parliament (Knesset) and the creation of a new party to fight the electoral battle that may take place next March.
Sa’ar was Netanyahu’s most vocal critic within the Likud, having previously challenged him in a race for party leadership last December, but decisively lost the primaries.
Sa’ar, 53, who previously held ministerial positions in Netanyahu’s governments between 2009 and 2014, does not hide his political ambitions to take over as prime minister in Israel.
Observers say the man’s decision to secede from Likud and form a political party comes at a watershed moment, with the Netanyahu-led government coalition nearing collapse and the prospect of heading toward elections that will be in this fourth state in less than two years. years.
In a statement broadcast live on television Tuesday night, Sa’ar said: “I have created a new movement whose goal is to replace Netanyahu.” And in a statement Wednesday, he announced his formal resignation from the Knesset, allowing him to “run for prime minister.”
It is unclear whether the Israelis will return to the polls in 2021. Netanyahu’s main coalition partner, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, in a preliminary vote last week, supported the opposition’s proposal to dissolve the Knesset.
Sa’ar aims to reestablish a right wing rooted in conservative principles, not a party that is simply a “personal mission” for the current prime minister.
The Knesset committee charged with reviewing this law has suggested that March 16 be the date for the next elections if Parliament is finally dissolved. But the bill still has to go through several legislative steps before final approval. There is room for a wide range of political maneuvering before an election can take place.
Netanyahu was forced to enter a hybrid coalition with the Blue and White alliance, to ensure his continuity at the head of the government, in light of his lack of a comfortable majority that would allow him to govern only his right-wing alliance.
Since its formation a few months ago, this coalition has suffered several clashes, the most recent of which is the budget dispute, and Gantz accuses Netanyahu of acting only in his own political interest and places the response to his ongoing corruption trial by above the needs of ordinary Israelis suffering unprecedented economic hardship due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
Under the alliance agreement, Gantz, who is also a rotating prime minister, will take over as prime minister in November 2021.
Gantz said Netanyahu could avoid new elections if the 2021 budget is approved. Netanyahu’s opponents argue that he is refusing to approve next year’s budget to ensure the collapse of the government before being forced to hand over the job to Gantz.
It is unclear how much of Sa’ar’s separation will affect possible future elections. Saar is seen as close to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, former Netanyahu loyalists, and served in their previous governments. He is to the right of Netanyahu on several key issues, who has been in power since 2009.
Sa’ar does not have the charisma and political capacity that allow him to create a popular incubator through which he can compete with Netanyahu.
Sa’ar is a supporter of Israel’s annexation of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move Netanyahu announced he would freeze by signing an agreement to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
In the Maariv newspaper on Wednesday, a prominent Israeli journalist, Ben Caspit, referred to Netanyahu’s “fully justified” panic over Sa’ar’s separation.
Caspit, known for his proximity to ultra-Orthodox parties, believes Sa’ar will be in a good position to extract votes from the Likud in the upcoming elections, noting that “for right-wingers who are tired of Netanyahu, they will easily vote for him “.
Right-wing political analyst Emmanuel Navon, who supports Sa’ar, said the Likud had become a “personal cult” under Netanyahu. Navon believes Sa’ar’s goal is to reestablish a right wing rooted in conservative principles, not a party that is simply a “personal mission” of the current prime minister.
On the other hand, other analysts believe that Sa’ar does not have the charisma and political capacity that allows him to create a popular incubator through which he competes with Netanyahu, and therefore the decision to withdraw from the Likud may mean the beginning. of the end for him.
Netanyahu was tried in May on charges of corruption, embezzlement and breach of trust in three cases, making him the only prime minister in Israel’s history to be indicted during his tenure. The proceedings have so far focused on procedural aspects and he is scheduled to appear in court in early February next year.
