Netanyahu claims victory in party battle
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared victory yesterday in his primary election battle for leadership of the Likud party, as TV stations predicted a landslide win for the longtime Israeli leader.
The apparent victory means Netanyahu will lead Likud into elections in March, the country’s third election in less than a year.
He is also likely to seize on the victory as he battles criminal corruption charges. ‘‘A giant victory,’’ Netanyahu tweeted, just over an hour after polls closed.
‘‘Thanks to the members of Likud for the trust, support and love,’’ he said. ‘‘God willing, I will lead Likud to a big victory in the coming elections.’’
Partial results reported by Israeli TV stations showed Netanyahu capturing between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of the vote, trouncing his challenger, lawmaker Gideon Saar.
Official results were expected overnight.
A veteran Likud party member, Saar had hoped to unseat Netanyahu, telling voters he would be better placed to form a government after national elections in March.
Despite the criminal indictment, Netanyahu remains popular among Likud members, and the fiercely loyal party – which has had only four leaders since its inception in the 1970s – stood firmly behind the long-serving leader.
‘‘For years, I have been working for you for the sake of our beloved country. Now I am asking for your support,’’ Netanyahu wrote online.
’’A big victory for me in the primaries will ensure a huge victory in the Knesset elections.’’
Saar, who had garnered support from a handful of Likud backbenchers, had surged in the leadup to the vote, and hoped to benefit from cold, rainy weather that appeared to hold down turnout.
‘‘We can win today, to set forth on a new path that will allow us to form a strong and stable government, that will allow us to unite the people of Israel, which is probably the most important thing right now,’’ Saar told reporters.
Netanyahu had portrayed Saar as inexperienced, while depicting himself as a master of international diplomacy and a scourge to Israel’s enemies.
In what was seen as an embarrassment at a critical moment, Netanyahu was rushed off stage on Thursday after a rocket fired from Gaza set off an air raid siren at a campaign rally in the southern city of Ashkelon.
Israel responded with a wave of airstrikes early yesterday. There were no reports of casualties or major damage.
A similar incident happened in September, when Netanyahu was in the nearby city of Ashdod campaigning for the second general Israeli election of the year.
Just under 50 per cent of 116,000 eligible voters cast ballots, with many apparently deterred by the weather.
Israeli media predicted a Netanyahu landslide. Channel 12, a major television station, said initial results showed a ‘‘significant gap’’ between the candidates.
Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three corruption cases.
He is accused of trading legislative or regulatory favours for lavish gifts or favourable media coverage.
He denies wrongdoing and has waged an angry campaign against the media and law enforcement officials he says are bent on ousting him. His supporters have tried to paint Saar as part of the same conspiracy.
The indictments came amid months of political deadlock in
Israel after elections.
Netanyahu’s main rival, former military chief Benny Gantz, was also unable to form a government after the September vote.
While the two professed eagerness to form a unity government, they differed on its composition and who would lead it, deepening the stalemate.
Recent polls showed that with Saar as leader, Likud would make a more powerful bloc with its natural ultra-Orthodox and nationalist allies. Saar would also be in an easier position to create a national unity government with Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party if, as expected, the March election produces a deadlock.
Speaking on television, Saar said he was best positioned to lead Likud to victory. He described Blue and White as a ‘‘balloon’’ comprised of various factions unified by the sole goal of toppling Netanyahu. If two inconclusive
Netanyahu goes, he said, a good chunk of Blue and White’s supporters would return to Likud.
‘‘If I win today, we will also win on March 2,’’ he said.
Whatever the results are, said Avraham Diskin, a political scientist at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the primary ‘‘definitely strengthens Saar unless he is humiliated in the elections today, and that is not very likely to happen’’.
Netanyahu hopes the coming election will deliver him a majority of lawmakers in favour of granting him immunity from prosecution.
Even with Netanyahu winning the primary vote, his political future remains in doubt.
The Supreme Court is set next week to begin considering the question of whether an indicted member of parliament can be tasked with forming a new government.
It is not clear when a ruling will be handed down. –AP