"I'm not happy that we got [an estimated] six seats, but it saved the party from death," said Marciano, the only Labor official who agreed to speak on the record immediately after exit polls were announced.

 Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Labor leader Amir Peretz kept away from the modest election headquarters in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood of Tel Aviv.

Peretz knows that while he managed to keep the party out of the dustbin of history, he has a lot of work ahead of him.

A senior Labor official told Israel Hayom that there was "no chance" Labor would join a coalition with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Amir Peretz will keep his promise," the official said.

Approximately half an hour after exit polls were announced, Peretz sent a message to Labor activists.

"I ask that you wait until the final results are in, and all our friends at the polling places finish their work," he said.

"The media spent a month and a half slaughtering us," Marciano said.

"Right now is not the time to sum things up. … Amir Peretz was elected party leader two months ago. We got a party that was wrecked, with debts. A day after Peretz was elected, Shelly Yachimovich resigned, Tal Russo left, and [former leader] Avi Gabbay didn't do anything."

"[Ehud] Barak left, Stav Shafir left. Joining forces with Gesher was one of the good things that happened, and you'll see that in the end Orly Levy-Abekasis and her colleagues do a lot for us. We inherited a party that had a deficit of 8 million shekels [$2.3 million]," Marciano said.

The post 'We saved the Labor party from death' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

"I have decided to follow my heart and my truth and take myself off of the list for the next Knesset," Gabbay wrote to his followers on social media.

Gabbay apparently made the decision after realizing that his plan to reserve himself a slot on the next Knesset list would face considerable difficulties, and that were he to run for election, he would not be elected to a realistic spot on the party list.

In a post to Twitter, Wednesday night, Gabbay wrote, "As part of the discussions over the structure of the list for the next Knesset, a majority of faction members supported the freezing of the Knesset list, with the exception of the chairman."

Gabbay said the party's culture of ousting leaders had not changed, "and although I believed I could [bring about that change], I did not succeed. The party is in a major crisis, and I do not absolve myself of responsibility."

According to Gabbay, one of the reasons there are problems with the party culture is that former Labor heads remain on the list.

"In the world outside of politics," he noted, "when a CEO leaves, he moves on and does not become subordinate to those who were beneath him. There were four former chiefs beneath me. Naturally, this is a phenomenon that leads to personal problems, and I do not want to be a continuation of that phenomenon.

"I believe that a party that cannot come together and move forward, cannot come to the public and propose to run the country. In the end, we are talking about the lives and the quality of life of the Israeli public – not just an internal partisan political game."

Gabbay had refused to step down as party chief following Labor's dismal showings in the recent election – the worst in the party's history – but it appears the negotiations over entering a government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in violation of all of his campaign promises to the contrary were what forced him to announce he would not vie for the party's leadership a second time.

In media interviews last week, Gabbay promised he would not act to reserve himself a slot on Labor's list for the next Knesset. On Monday, however, it came to light that Gabbay had, in fact, asked to have the Labor conference reserve him the No. 2 slot on the list.

On Wednesday, the Tel Aviv District Court ordered the party to hold a referendum among its members over Gabbay's proposal to cancel the primaries for party list and instead rely on the existing list, while reserving the No. 2 slot for Gabbay. Upon realizing party members would vote to hold primaries, Gabbay made the decision to retire from political life.

After overcoming Amir Peretz in the second round of voting, Gabbay was predicted to garner over 20 Knesset seats for the Labor party. But within a matter of months, he brought the party down to just 12 seats, and Labor would only continue to deteriorate from there.

During his tenure, it was revealed that before becoming one of the leading voices in the opposition to the natural gas framework deal, Gabbay had courted Israeli energy mogul Yitzhak Tshuva in an effort to see himself appointed CEO of Delek's drilling project. It also came to light that Gabbay had not spoken truthfully when he had previously claimed never to have voted for Likud.

But from the perspective of left-wing voters, the straw that broke the camel's back was Gabbay's remark that "the Left had forgotten what it is to be Jewish." While Gabbay claimed his comment was taken out of context, it was later revealed that he had repeated this remark at numerous opportunities and in various forums.

The post Failed Labor leader announces exit from political life appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

"To my supporters, to my friends, to my partners, and to my dear loved ones, I want to inform you that I will not be running for leadership of the party in the elections which will be held next month," Gabbay said on Facebook.

The decision, he said, was the next logical step in light of Labor's poor showing in the April 9 general election, which saw the party dwindle to just six mandates.

Labor's primary election is scheduled to take place on July 2.

Gabbay was reportedly offered a deal within the party whereby the No. 2 slot on its list would be reserved for him if he declined a primary run. The Labor central committee was expected to vote on the proposal on Wednesday.

His announcement came a day after MK Tal Russo, number two on Labor's Knesset slate and a key ally to Gabbay, told supporters he was retiring from politics.

In a post on his Facebook page, Russo wrote: "I entered politics about four months ago with big plans to make changes in the Labor party and, no less, the State of Israel. In the reality in which we find ourselves, party primaries and the selection of a new party leader so close together do not allow me to do the things I so hoped to do. I do not want to be part of the battle for succession, so I'm revoking my candidacy for the position of Labor leaders and from the list for the 22nd Knesset."

Russo expressed his thanks to the party members and to the "public at large" for their support.

"I will continue to work for the public good in other ways. Good luck to us all," he ended his message.

The post Labor leader Avi Gabbay says he will not vie for party leadership again appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

However, the Labor leadership has offered Gabbay a deal whereby the No. 2 slot on the Labor list would be reserved for him. The Labor central committee is expected to vote on the proposal this Wednesday.

The news that Gabbay might to try to secure the top spot in Labor came on the heels of an announcement by former GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. (res.) Tal Russo – a political neophyte who joined Labor ahead of the April election – that he would not be running for the Knesset on the Labor list in September.

In a post on his Facebook page, Russo wrote: "I entered politics about four months ago with big plans to make changes in the Labor party and, no less, the state of Israel. In the reality in which we find ourselves, party primaries and the selection of a new party leader so close together do not allow me to do the things I so hoped to do. I do not want to be part of the battle for succession, so I'm revoking my candidacy for the position of Labor leaders and from the list for the 22^nd Knesset."

Russo expressed his thanks to the party members and to the "public at large" for their support.

"I will continue to work for the public good in other ways. Good luck to us all," he ended his message.

The post Labor offers party head Avi Gabbay a deal to step down appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The biggest disputes that have held up the formation of a new government are the haredi conscription bill and the justice minister appointment. Everything else was basically agreed upon by the last government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the haredi parties have reached understandings about budgets, appointments, and laws. The same goes for the Likud and the Union of Right-Wing Parties, and Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. The weak link is, as usual, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman. After the April 9 election, Lieberman tossed aside all his campaign pledges to become part of the right-wing coalition and support Netanyahu as prime minister and did a U-turn toward the opposition.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Lieberman remains unmoved by the fact that for the first time in years, the Likud did not set up a Russian campaign headquarters - this with the express purpose of bringing Yisrael Beytenu over the minimum electoral threshold. He now prefers to be offended about a few Russian-language Likud signs that were posted in the last few days of the election, after it was already clear that the risk his party wouldn't make it into the Knesset had passed. This is a kind of political ingratitude that is typical of Lieberman.

Immunity? Don't bore us

Last Wednesday, the eve of Lag Ba'omer, Netanyahu met with Lieberman. The meeting was brief and to the point. Head of Netanyahu's coalition negotiations staff, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, was also there. When it concluded, Netanyahu was more pessimistic than he was when it started. Those present came away with the impression that Lieberman had effectively decided not to join the coalition, but was unwilling to say so. His insistence on passing the haredi draft bill gave the Likud official something to cling to. Lieberman won't pay any price among his constituency if he leads the compromise he is expected to. At one point, one of the people in the meeting exclaimed, "This stubbornness will send us into another election!" Lieberman's response? "No problem."

Last Thursday, a change in strategy was proposed - a bill to dissolve the Knesset before the deadline to form a government. This would prevent President Reuven Rivlin from handing the job of forming a governing coalition to someone other than Netanyahu. It seems that a majority of Knesset members would back that bill. The haredi parties would support it, as would the Union of Right-Wing Parties and, of course, Lieberman. What's more, the further the bill gets in the legislative process, the greater the chances that something might happen at the last minute to break the impasse.

What hasn't been addressed at all in the negotiations are the cases against Netanyahu. There is an astonishing discrepancy between the media headlines and what is actually happening on the ground, where the investigations aren't even a topic of discussion among coalition members. As far as they are concerned, Netanyahu was elected for a four-year term, and he is the one who will choose how he wants to ensure he remains in power. If he wants to pass a bill that would give him, as prime minister, immunity from prosecution - let him have immunity. If he wants to forgo the immunity bill and use his existing immunity? Not a problem. Does he want to forgo immunity entirely and allow himself to be indicted and possibly tried while in office? Bring it on. No one in the coalition will give him a hard time or demand that he resign.

The opposition's campaign about the issue of immunity and the harm to democracy not only isn't hurting him, it could wind up doing the opposite and prompt the right-wing parties to seek and pass the bills that so terrify the left side of the political map, because they would keep Netanyahu in office. Even former Likud minister Gideon Sa'ar, who did a turn in the media after coming out against Netanyahu, has said that he would support immunity for the prime minister under the existing law.

What's going on with Gabbay?

In the new government, Likud ministers will get the leftover crumbs. Netanyahu decided that the government will include only 16 Likud ministers. The current 11 will stay on. It looks like they will be joined by Avi Dichter, Tzipi Hotovely, and Nir Barkat. That leaves two. Netanyahu wants Amir Ohana to serve as communications minister. David Amsalem is also expected to receive a ministerial role. As is David Bitan. But all these will be handed out only after the Gideon Sa'ar riddle is solved. No one knows whether or not Netanyahu intends to appoint him to anything and if so, what.

It looks like Yisrael Katz will stay on as foreign minister. Hotovely, if appointed at all, would be the first female minister from the national religious sector, which would be a bonus if she were given the culture and sport portfolio, for example.

Meanwhile, in the Labor Party, senior party officials' questions about where Labor chairman Avi Gabbay is leading the party after its election loss turned into real concern this past week. Based on Gabbay's behavior, and even though he is denying it, they think that not only is he not drawing the necessary conclusions after his failure as party head, he is actually doing less than nothing to keep himself in the role of party leader much longer. In addition to announcing that he was moving the Labor primaries forward by six months, Gabbay is still increasing his grip on the party mechanisms by exploiting the constitutional changes he passed when he was made party leader. These changes were meant to give him tools to ensure that Labor would win the election, but in effect are just increasing his lopsided rule over the skeleton of the party whose assets he has stripped. Former party leader Isaac Herzog successfully "re-set" the party, and covered its 8 million-shekel debt. But in Gabbay's short time at the helm, Labor's debt has ballooned to 4 million shekels, an enormous amount for a party that has only six Knesset seats.

Last week, Labor Secretary General Eran Hermoni sent Gabbay and members of the Labor faction a letter in which he demanded explanations for their financial conduct. Hermoni asked them to submit lists of everyone in the party who holds official positions and receives salaries. Gabbay had already refused to comply with similar requests.

Hermoni also wrote that "a number of questions I posed to the party leader about expected expenditures … like [questions] about the considerations behind some of the actions he has taken as part of the plan to rehabilitate the part, have yet to be answered."

Hermoni's letter indicates that the party spent over 300 million shekels on business deals, contracts, and covering debt in the month after the election. Which senior party officials do not see as a sign that Gabbay intends to go anywhere. One source in the Labor Party said, "Gabbay apparently set the primaries for a far-off, unrealistic date, so he can postpone them against and tighten his grip. That's not how someone who means to take responsibility for the failure and leave behaves."

"For now, Gabbay is still … selling off assets as if this were a company he has to strip," the source said.

Associates of Gabbay said in response to these claims that "the only unreasonable expense in the budget is the useless salary for a useless secretary general, who admits himself that he has done nothing for the past two years. The primaries will be moved up, there's no argument about that, and the one who is leading that move is Gabbay himself."

This week, David Bitan launched a lobby to strengthen national institutions. While sitting with other MKs, Bitan spotted Gabbay and asked him to join the lobby. He was gobsmacked at Gabbay's response: "Not only will I not join - as far as I'm concerned, you can dismantle the Jewish Agency tomorrow morning," he told Bitan.

Senior members of the Labor party were less surprised at this than Bitan and his colleagues.

"The Jewish Agency is a Labor asset. So it's no surprise that Gabbay is trying to dismantle it, too," they said.

The post The final stretch appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

‎"I am proud of Shelly. She is a terrific MK who leads determined ‎struggles in and out of the Knesset," Gabbay said. "Shelly filled the ‎role of opposition leader in the past and did so well. She will help us ‎prepare for the election and for victory."‎

Yachimovich said she ‎would work to galvanize the opposition, ‎adding, "We will work together toward the goal of replacing the ‎government with one that pursues peace, fights socio-economic ‎gaps and respects democracy and the rule of law."‎

She further said Gabbay dismissing Livni was "a brave act of ‎leadership" as Livni "refused to accept Gabbay's leadership and ‎weakened the party."‎

Meanwhile, many in Labor who agreed with the split from Hatnuah ‎were critical of Gabbay for choosing to announce it in a live ‎press conference, clearly blindsiding Livni.‎

Gabbay, whose approval ratings within the party have plummeted ‎since he was elected in July 2017, also evoked Labor members' ire ‎by not consulting with anyone prior to announcing the dissolution ‎of Zionist Union, and some even called him a "dictator." ‎

‎"That's not how you do things, especially things like this," a senior ‎Labor lawmaker said. "You can't run a democratic party that has ‎set institutions like a one-man show, like a dictatorship.‎

‎"I have no doubt that if there was a constitutional way [in Labor] to ‎remove Gabbay as chairman and name another party ‎leader, we would have done so a long time ago, and certainly in ‎light of what he did today [Tuesday]," he said.

The official further predicted that Gabbay's chances of winning the Feb. 12 Labor ‎primaries were low, as under his leadership the party's public ‎standing has deteriorated to an unprecedented low. ‎

Another party insider said, "There's no teamwork. He doesn't ‎consult with anyone. What he did [dissolving Zionist Union] was ‎just stupid. Most party members think so, but they're afraid of ‎saying so because it could hurt the party further."‎

Briefing faction members on the move on Tuesday Gabbay justified ‎his actions saying Livni became a "political and personal liability."‎

‎"What I did was a move that, as far as I was concerned, freed us ‎from this burden. … Tzipi's voters are already in [Israel Resilience ‎Party leader] Benny Gantz's pocket. We did not lose anything, we ‎just ridded ourselves of a problem he said. ‎

Veteran Labor MK Eitan Cabel retorted, "I don't want to talk about ‎the shaming you imposed on Tzipi, without her knowledge or our ‎knowledge. But this move was a mistake. You do whatever you ‎want without consulting anyone? You decide for all of us? This ‎party was established long before you came along. This isn't a ‎private business you own. You think this will somehow see the ‎party bounce back to 24 seats in the polls? You had no legitimacy ‎to make such a decision without asking us."‎

Others expressed concerns that Labor, which was projected to win ‎eight Knesset seats had Zionist Union continued to exist, will drop ‎below the 3.25% electoral threshold following Gabbay's move and find itself out of the Knesset altogether.

The post ‎'If we could, we would have removed Gabbay long ago,' Labor ‎official says appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.