Netanyahu Undermines Foes Inside Likud, Demanding Primaries for Both Chairman and List –

By David Israel, JEWISH PRESS

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting on expanding the constitutionally mandated primary to elect a Likud party chairman to include full primaries for the party’s Knesset list. Those have been conducted in February 2019, and although there has not been a functioning Knesset since, Netanyahu is free to argue that an upcoming new election (which is being anticipated) require everybody to run in the primaries.

Except that only last week, Netanyahu reached an agreement with Likud Center Chairman MK Haim Katz to cancel the primaries for the party list.

As a result, the Likud Center, which was scheduled to convene next week – will not be convened for now, Reshet Bet radio reported Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s major foe inside Likud, MK Gideon Sa’ar, approached Katz to convene the Likud Center and decide on early elections for party leader as soon as possible. Sa’ar stressed that the move would prevent the country from deteriorating into new and needless elections, which the prime minister himself defined as the system going bonkers.

Sa’ar claimed that it’s still possible to form a new government in the current Knesset and thus end the political crisis the country has been experiencing for close to a year. He also reminded Katz that 17 years ago,it took three weeks to arrange a primary vote to choose between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and then contender, Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s circle is working on a statement they want the rightwing bloc party leaders to issue, that Netanyahu is their only candidate to form a government. This is an attempt to thwart MK Sa’ar’s claim that Netanyahu is no longer able to form a government.

MK Miki Zohar / Miriam Alster/Flash90

Likud MK Mickey Zohar told Reshet Bet Sunday morning regarding the indictments against Netanyahu that had he seen a valid suspicion that the prime minister was acting to advance his own economic interests, he, Zohar, would have called for his termination. But when he saw how the investigation was being conducted, he realized it was a dirty and crazy investigation.

Zohar said the prime minister should seek immunity from prosecution because of the political witch hunt against him. He said the police had “lost it,” and is persecuting the prime minister under media pressure.

“I want the public to judge who will be the prime minister and not any other entity,” he said.

Limor Livnat / Flash 90

Former minister Limor Livnat (Likud) believes Gideon Sa’ar’s call for Likud chairman primaries is courageous and shows leadership. Livnat told Reshet Bet that she is waiting to hear from other Likud officials about their position on the issue. She emphasized that she had never before experienced such silence in confronting the party leader, and blamed Netanyahu of a scorched earth strategy.

“The prime minister is innocent until proven guilty,” she said, but this must be proven “only in court and not in the street.”

Blue&White chairman MK Benny Gantz on Saturday night urged Likud members to join him in order to form a government he would head: “Likud leaders, I call for a partnership with you. You share the Zionist values ??of unity, security and a strong economy. This is your time to put past threats aside, and to march Israeli society into an age of healing and recovery.”

Gantz explained: “I will serve as prime minister for the first two years. If Netanyahu is acquitted, he can return to serve as prime minister. It’s the only alternative to a new election.”

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will decide this week whether Netanyahu can continue to serve as minister in the portfolios he controls. This is because, according to the law, a minister charged with crimes must submit his resignation to the prime minister immediately.

Also, in response to Blue&White inquiries, Mandelblit will also consider whether Netanyahu can continue to serve as prime minister after the indictments are officially filed.

November 24, 2019 | 6 Comments »

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6 Comments / 6 Comments

  1. Likud intends to have new primaries it has been reported. Estimated time frame about six (6) weeks from now.

    First poll reported shows:
    Sa’ar is the most popular candidate to replace the current prime minister, according to a poll published Monday by Channel 13.

    Asked who they would want to lead Likud after the Netanyahu era, 39.4 percent of party members picked Sa’ar. Next was former Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat with 23.6%, Foreign Minister Israel Katz with 6.2%, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein with 4.4% and Culture Minister Miri Regev with 2.3%. Meanwhile, 18.6% haven’t yet made up their mind.

  2. From today’s Israel Hayom:
    http://www.israelhayom.com

    Commentary
    Sa’ar’s gambit to replace Netanyahu quickly falls flat
    His idea was simple and smart: Force snap primaries for the Likud leadership to ensure the party remains in power before the Knesset disperses. But the decision to hold the primaries after the Knesset disperses and before another general election makes Netanyahu the heavy favorite again.

    by Mati Tuchfeld Published on 11-25-2019 11:21 Last modified: 11-25-2019 11:22
    Sa’ar’s gambit to replace Netanyahu quickly falls flat
    Gideon Sa’ar. An actual threat to Netanyahu? | Photo: Oren Ben Hakoon
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    Gideon Sa’ar is losing altitude. The gambit he set in motion on Saturday night, to hold snap party primaries, expired 24 hours later, when the head of the Likud Central Committee Haim Katz, who is actually a political ally of Sa’ar, fell in line with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and agreed to convene a primary election in around six weeks, after the Knesset disperses.

    For close to 24 hours, Sa’ar drew the attention of the political system, prodding his adversaries and causing the media, in its typically hostile to Netanyahu fashion, to focus mainly on him and the tumult he was instigating within his own party. Ultimately, however, what people will mostly remember from all this was his disloyalty in the moment of truth. Until now, the rivalry with Netanyahu generally benefited Sa’ar, perhaps even amplified his status. The question is whether he crossed the line and will lose prestige from this point forward.

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    The difference between Sa’ar’s proposal to hold snap primaries within the 21 days the Knesset can still produce a government, and Netanyahu’s agreement with Katz to hold primaries after the Knesset disperses in 21 days, is massive. Sa’ar sought to vie for the party’s leadership and to receive the president’s mandate to form the next government. The slogan from his campaign, which he effectively launched Saturday night, was that the Netanyahu era was over because he had essentially lost the ability to form a government. While he, Sa’ar, not only increases the odds of keeping the Likud in power but is certain to do so, due to the fact that Benny Gantz, Amir Peretz and other Likud rivals – including, apparently, Avigdor Lieberman – scorn Netanyahu on a personal level, not his party.

    Hence Netanyahu’s agreement with Katz is no less than a slap in Sa’ar’s face. While the timing of the primaries he had aimed for would have worked in his favor – because he offers a government that Netanyahu cannot provide – Netanyahu and Katz opted for a primary election that will determine who will lead the Likud in an election campaign. Not only does Netanyahu have the advantage in such a scenario, Sa’ar isn’t even a factor. There’s little doubt who Likudniks will support with a general election looming. It remains obvious that Netanyahu doesn’t have a true rival in this arena.

    Netanyahu and Katz also agreed to annul the primaries to determine the party’s Knesset ticket. In this 21-day period, it is important for Netanyahu to show his back-seat MKs that they have nothing to fear; and that none of them should feel the need to negotiate with Blue and White about defecting to save their political skins. It’s possible this agreement will indeed hold firm until the general election, but no one should be shocked if after these 21 days, when the election campaign is sure to commence, changes will be made in this regard.

  3. ,@ JohnF:

    John, I read them, and whilst I was making my comment, I returned to them several times, so as to make sure I had NOT misunderstood. I always like to have my points accurate, although I may , as in this case, paraphrase somewhat. As the Sages said, when giving decisions in matters of Torah Laws, which seemed to have no connection with Torah, they ALWAYS made sure to keep to the principle of the Torah ruling, even in bizarre ways

    This is how the Jewish religion became elasticized, and would stretch to accomodate new, difficult outside pressures….and survive.

    So please tell me, exactly how i misread the remarks. It would be a favour, perhaps I have a blind spot that I would like to know about.

  5. Mandelblit has taken it upon himself to decide who can and cannot be Prime Minister, even though the Basic Laws of the state are clear that that is a decision to be made by the Knesset and no one else. There is nothing in Israeli law that empowers the Attorney General to disqualify anyone from serving as Prime Minister. Only the voters have a legal right, under Israels Basic Laws, to do that.

    The usurpation of the powers of the electorate and their elected representatives by the Judiciary and its appointees is an infamous subversion of democracy and the due process of law. The only solution is for the Knesset to act on its “sovereign” powers under Basic Law One and grant itself the right to dismiss judges and other government lawyers who outrageously abuse their power. They should also place the government lawyers who represent the state in litigation and prosecution of crimes, under the authority of the cabinet official who is rightfully the head of the executive branch of the government’s litigation department. That official is the Minister of Justice. He/she should have the authority to appoint the lawyers who represent the executive branch of the government before the courts. And he/she should have the power to dismiss those government lawyers who refuse to represnt the positions of the cabinet before the courts. Having judges appoint the state attorneys who try cases before them is an obvious conflict of interest, which insures that the lawyers representing the state will always support the positions of the judges who appoint them. This and many other usurpations of power by the courts must end if Israel is to survive as a democratic state.

  6. It’s so obviously a concocted mafia style hit-job. Mandelblit is doing ALL the “deciding” I hope you notice…

    I was intrigued with Miki Zohar’s comment that he detected signs” that the PM ws enriching himself financially. this is a NEW mishugas. Do we have Sherlock Holmes redivivus here…?? If you tale away the value of his real estate he is a comparatively a poor man.. His take home pay is FIFTY THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR…A TEAR….after income tax, insurance, medical and etc. deductions