Uzi Landau to run for Likud head
Likud race heats up; Pullout foe Uzi Landau to run against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and possibly Benjamin Netanyahu, in party elections; National prime ministerial election set for next year
His announcement comes after Benjamin Netanyahu quit his post as finance minister on Sunday in protest of Israel’s planned pullout from all 21 settlements in Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank, which is set to start next week.
Landau, 62, has emerged in recent months as one of the fiercest opponents of Sharon’s pullout plan, saying it would reward Palestinian terrorism and pose a threat to Israeli security.
“The government of Israel has beaten the people when it voted on a unilateral pullout from Gaza and the northern West Bank,” Landau said.
“Many harsh mistakes were made, including the unilateral withdrawal, without a partner, without an agreement. Does anyone find it surprising that Hamas and Islamic Jihad see it as a great victory? Is this how peace is made?”
Landau was born in the town of Haifa and served as a major in the IDF paratroopers. He holds a master's degree from the prestigious Technion institute of technology and a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Israel's prime ministerial election is set for November 2006 and Likud primaries are expected to begin several months before.
Netanyahu: May the best man win
Netanyahu, a former prime minister, is also widely expected to announce his candidacy. He flew to the United States in a bid to raise funding from Jewish leaders for an expected campaign, officials said.
"May the best man win," officials quoted Netanyahu as telling Landau.
Some members of the right-wing party scoffed at Landau’s announcement, saying they would prefer to support a candidate who could beat Sharon.
“We call on all pullout opponents to stand behind the candidate who has the most chances to replace Sharon,” Likud members Eyub Kra and Michael Gorolovsky, Netanyahu’s former spokesman, said in a statement.
Likud member Ehud Yatom said Landau and Netanyahu should form a common election team.
Landau said Sharon was a corrupt leader and that he would act to bring back integrity into the Israeli leadership.
“I am here to offer a different Israel,” Landau said. “I am here for those who want a clean and ideological leadership. I am here for those who want a leadership that inspires honor, not one to be ashamed of,” he said.
“I want peace, and when there will be a chance for real people, there will be compromises,” he said. “I am willing to compromise to attain real peace and security, but not for idiotic concessions.”
