Netanyahu Challenges Prime Minister
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JERUSALEM – Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday that he would challenge Prime Minister Sharon for leadership of the ruling Likud Party and replace him as premier, setting off a bitter fight that could shake up Israeli politics and paralyze Mideast peacemaking.
Appealing to his hawkish supporters, Mr. Netanyahu lashed out at Mr. Sharon for his unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip – accusing him of creating a de facto Palestinian Arab state – and said he would take a far tougher stance.
“Sharon gave and gave and gave, the Palestinians got and got and got, and my question is, What did we get? Nothing and nothing and nothing,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
The announcement by Mr. Netanyahu, a former prime minister who is leading Mr. Sharon in party polls, had been expected since he resigned as finance minister three weeks ago to protest the Gaza withdrawal.
The political turmoil sparked by the leadership battle will likely delay efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace moves following the pullout, which is to be completed in the coming weeks. A bruising fight inside Likud could rip the party apart and lead to a major political realignment ahead of national elections that are scheduled for November 2006 but could come earlier if Mr. Sharon’s shaky governing coalition collapses.
The Sharon-Netanyahu battle burst into the open after a party tribunal ruled Monday that the 3,000-member Likud Central Committee, stacked with Netanyahu supporters, could set a primary date in a September 25 vote.
Mr. Netanyahu would benefit from a quick leadership contest. Mr. Sharon, whose standing in the hard-line party plunged because of his Gaza pullout plan, needs more time to reposition himself and stage a comeback.