Longtime Likud politician Yuli Edelstein announced that he plans to challenge former PM Benjamin Netanyahu for leadership of the party.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
During an interview with Channel 12 News, Edelstein said he was spurred to seek command of the party because he believes "the current government is simply dangerous for Israel."
"We will always stay in the opposition with Netanyahu," Edelstein, Israel's former health minister and Knesset speaker, argued.
"Netanyahu has already tried four times, how can we succeed with him the fifth time? With Netanyahu we will never return to power."
Although the Likud primaries are not yet scheduled, Edelstein said he anticipates that they will take place in the coming months.
During the interview, he stressed that that "as prime minister, Netanyahu marked many achievements. But the facts speak for themselves – four times [elections] and there's still is no Likud-led government. Conclusions must be drawn. We need to switch gears. This won't be a runoff between me and Netanyahu but between me and [Yesh Atid head Yair] Lapid and the current, dangerous government.
"The voters wanted us," he continued. "My conscience order me to vie [for Likud leadership]. I will not engage in mudslinging vis-à-vis other contenders. After I am elected, each and every party member will have the feeling that we are together in this, not under a single rule.
"I'm glad I stayed true to my values. Collecting 61 signatures or splitting [from Likud] with some friends is not my way. Netanyahu knows my intentions, I demand we hold primaries soon. "
Additionally, the current government plans to vote on a law that would definitively rule out a new candidacy by Benjamin Netanyahu, who was tried for fraud and corruption in three cases.
A source close to Netanyahu told Israel Hayom that Edelstein "is saying what [New Hope leader Gideon] Sa'ar said two years ago in the [Likud] primaries. He [Sa'ar] then lost to Netanyahu 72.5% to 27.5%. Now, Gideon can't pass the electoral threshold. Yuli will lose by an even larger margin."
Likud lawmakers had mixed reactions to Edelstein's announcement.
MK Miki Zohar, a raucous Netanyahu loyalist, said, "The Likud is a democratic movement and every member has the right to present themselves for election. I support Netanyahu and I'll do everything within my power to see him elected and back at the country's helm. If Yuli run, he will be part of the Likud's leadership."
MK Shlomo Karhi slammed the decision and warned that Edelstein might "defect" to another party.
"I have no doubt that Edelstein could be a defector. I don't know if he'll do it after the state budget is passed or after he loses to Netanyahu. The coalition will give him everything he wants. After Sa'sr and Elkin, I don't trust anyone," he said, referring to former senior Likud MKs Gideon Sa'ar and Ze'ev Elkin's split from Likud to form the New Hope party, which is a part of the coalition.
He further castigated Edelstein, saying that his decision to challenge Netanyahu "is ever worse that what Sa'ar did during the elections," referring to the latter's announcement early on in the campaign that would not join a government led by Netanyahu.
MK Miri Regev, who has declared several times in the past that she plans to seek Likud's leadership in the post-Netanyahu era, again reiterated her intentions on Tuesday, telling Israel Radio: "If we don't allow people from the lower-middle class, people from the periphery, and those who represent the majority of Likud voters, to be elected as head of the movement, a situation will be created for people to form 'Likud 2.' I intend to stay in the Likud and the after Netanyahu's term ends I will run for the leadership of the movement."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
