In a significant setback to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, his most serious challenger in the Likud party has decided to set up a rival right-wing party aimed at ending his lengthy tenure as Israel's ruler.
In a scathing attack on Mr Netanyahu on Tuesday night, Gideon Sa’ar (54), who ran against him in the 2019 Likud primary, winning 27 per cent of the vote, stated his aim of replacing Mr Netanyahu as prime minister.
He said Likud had become a “tool for the personal interests of the person in charge, including matters relating to his criminal trial”, and accused the party of fostering “a cult of personality” around Mr Netanyahu, who faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
"Likud has changed its character dramatically in recent years," Mr Sa'ar said. "I can no longer support the Netanyahu-led government or be a member of a Likud party led by him. Today Israel needs unity and stability – Netanyahu can offer neither."
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The former education minister resigned from the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on Wednesday. Three current Knesset members have already joined the new party, called New Hope, and others may follow.
One poll after Mr Sa’ar’s announcement indicated that his party could emerge as the second-largest group in the 120-seat Knesset.
The new party was projected to win 18 seats, behind Mr Netanyahu’s Likud with 25 and ahead of the right-wing Yamina with 17. Other polls put the new party in third or fourth place.
Mr Sa’ar’s list takes support away from all the other right-wing and centre parties, crucially giving a majority to the anti-Netanyahu parties for the first time in months.
Likud officials said Mr Sa’ar was humiliated last year in the party primaries and so decided to ditch the party. They predicted he would join a long list of people who have left the Likud only to subsequently “crash and burn.”
The latest developments came as Mr Netanyahu pondered whether to back a move for early elections.
General election
Earlier on Wednesday, a Knesset committee set March 16th as the potential date for the next general election, advancing legislation to dissolve parliament.
If the Bill passes, Israelis will head to the polls for the fourth time in two years.
One possible result of Mr Sa'ar's move is that Mr Netanyahu may decide that that early elections are too much of a gamble at this juncture. In order to prevent such a scenario he will have to agree to pass a budget in the coming weeks and provide a cast-iron guarantee to his coalition partner Benny Gantz, head of the centrist Blue and White party , that he will honour the rotating premiership agreement under which Mr Gantz would take over as prime minister next November.