Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday declared a “huge” victory after winning a leadership primary that ensures he is to lead his right-wing Likud party into March elections.
Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, who faces a corruption indictment and a third general election in 12 months, was expected to beat rival Gideon Saar, but the convincing margin of victory strengthened his position in the party that he has dominated for 20 years.
With all votes counted, Likud early yesterday announced that Netanyahu had secured 72.5 percent, with Saar winning 27.5 percent.
Photo: AFP
“A huge win. Thank you to Likud members for their trust, support and love,” Netanyahu tweeted. “With God’s and your help, I will lead Likud to a big victory in the upcoming elections and we will continue to lead the state of Israel to unprecedented achievements.”
About 57,000 Likud members — a little less than 50 percent of those eligible — on Thursday cast their ballots across the country.
Saar, a former minister of the interior perceived to be to the right of Netanyahu, campaigned on the basis that the prime minister was no longer able to win elections after deadlocked polls in April and September.
“I am content with my decision to have stood. Those who are unwilling to take a risk for what they believe in will never succeed,” Saar tweeted. “My colleagues and I will stand behind [Netanyahu] in campaigning for the Likud’s success.”
He announced his leadership challenge last month after the Israeli attorney general indicted the prime minister for fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
Netanyahu, 70, denies the allegations, accusing the police, prosecutors and the media of a witch hunt.
Stephan Miller, a pollster who has worked on multiple Israeli campaigns, said that Netanyahu had campaigned harder than ever before to defeat Saar.
Netanyahu held multiple campaign events a day in different parts of the country, while on Thursday his Facebook page broadcast live video of him phoning supporters.
“His job was on the line and he fought to keep it successfully,” Miller said.
Netanyahu’s downfall has been predicted multiple times since he was elected for a second term in 2009, but he has defied expectations and beaten off multiple potential rivals.
He is likely to remain prime minister at least until new elections on March 2.
Likud and the centrist Blue and White party were near neck-and-neck after polls in March and September, with neither able to form a coalition under the country’s proportional system.
Early polls indicate that the third round could again be a stalemate.
In the short term, attention will turn to Netanyahu’s legal woes.
Netanyahu is accused of corruption in three separate cases, ranging from receiving illegal gifts of thousands of dollars to offering to change a regulatory framework in exchange for positive media coverage.
The Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday is expected to hold a hearing on whether a prime minister that has been indicted can form a government.
The result could embolden Netanyahu in his campaign against the charges, Hebrew University political science professor Gayil Talshir said.
“He is going to argue that the people chose him, and not the mechanisms and the judiciary,” Talshir said. “The big game for Netanyahu is immunity and for that he needs 61 votes [in the 120-seat Israeli parliament].”
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