Poll: Sharon maintains strong lead
Mina Tzemah poll shows Likud voters prefer Prime Minister Sharon to challenger Benjamin Netanyahu 51-26 percent; amongst general public, 56 percent prefer Sharon, just 21 percent support Netanyahu; Former finance minister to open primaries campaign with tour of disputed West Bank area; will "gently" try to convince MK Uzi Landau to withdraw bid for Likud leadership
Benjamin Netanyahu fired off his Likud primaries election campaign Wednesday morning with a fiery speech while touring the Jerusalem suburb of Maale Adumin.
“Jerusalem is in danger, and Sharon has chosen to increase this danger when he decided to uproot Jews back to the ’67 borders,” said Netanyahu.
“Sharon is delaying Jewish construction projects between Jerusalem and Maale Adumin, and the Palestinians are overtaking us on this. They want to create a continuous Palestinian stretch from the north to the south, and we must not let that happen,” he added.
Netanyahu's campaign kicked off in the shadow of a Yedioth Ahronoth poll showing current Prime Minister Ariel Sharon holding a 56-to-21 percent advantage over challenger Benjamin Netanyahu amongst all Israeli voters.
Likud favorite, but voters don't like him (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
A strong majority of Likud members also said they preferred Sharon: 51 percent of Likud voters said they prefer Sharon, with just 26 percent saying they support Netanyahu.
Read Ynetnews' complete coverage of Benjamin Netanyahu's challenge for the Likud leadership
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Netanyahu, a former prime minister and finance minister who resigned from Sharon's government three weeks ago in protest of the Gaza disengagement plan, announced Tuesday he would seek the Likud Party leadership.
Campaign visit
Netanyahu is set to launch his campaign Wednesday with a tour of Maaleh Adumim, the largest Jewish city in the West Bank, as well as the disputed E1 area, where construction plans have been put on hold as a result of disagreements with the United States, which opposes settlement expansion in the area.
During the tour, Netanyahu is expected to attack Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for failing to create a construction boom that would create territorial contiguity between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim.
The former finance minister is expected to charge that the failure to continue building in the area proves that Sharon does not intend to safeguard the large West Bank settlement blocs as he vowed to do and is unable to create territorial contiguity that would offer a boost to the capital.
Coaxing Landau
Sources close to Netanyahu say that in the coming weeks his associates will put an emphasis on preparations ahead of the Likud Central Committee meeting set for late September. During that session, the Likud will decide whether to bring forward the primaries.
"We are preparing for general elections to be held in February or March," a source close to Netanyahu said.
One of Bibi's chief supporters, Uri Farj, said that Landau must be approached gently and be treated with respect.
"We have to see how to bring him in and turn him into one of the closest people to Bibi Netanyahu," the activist said.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is expected to tour the north of the country next week and meet activists from various groups.
