Israel’s Likud to sign commitment backing Netanyahu’s leadership

Likud party has started preparing to push its members to sign commitment backing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the party leader, Ynet News reported yesterday.

According to Ynet News, this move followed suggestions of Yisrael Beiteinu head, Avigdor Lieberman, that Likud should name an alternative leader to Netanyahu if he remains an obstacle to the formation of a coalition government.

Lieberman proposed Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein as a replacement for Netanyahu.

Ynet News reported anger among some Likud members who slammed the move as “dictatorial”, but said that all the party members were asked to agree to sign a commitment to back Netanyahu.

It reported that the commitment reads: “We, candidates for the Likud party’s list for the 22nd Knesset will not accept any dictate from any other party regardless of the election results, as to the leadership of Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu as the only candidate for prime minister.”

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After Lieberman’s remarks, which were made during a TV interview, the PM’s son Yair Netanyahu posted on Twitter: “Liberman let out that he and Edelstein are planning a coup to remove my father.” He removed it soon after.

Edelstein denied claims he was planning a coup with Lieberman and reiterated that Netanyahu is Likud’s only choice to form a government.

Speaking to Kan radio, Israeli Minister of Communications Dudi Amsalem, from Likud, accused Lieberman of lying and said: “If we were not in Israel, I would think Lieberman were anti-Semitic.”

Ynet reported Yair Lapid, from the opposition Blue and White Party, saying yesterday that Netanyahu is right to worry about his party’s loyalty to him because members have been discussing finding a successor.