Netanyahu's planned visit to Hebron raises ire on the right
Prime minister asks to travel to West Bank amid accusations that he is attempting to weaken Bayit Yehudi and court the religious Zionist vote.
Tension between Likud and Bayit Yehudi have been on the rise, as the latter suspects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to choose a unity government with the Zionist Camp over bringing Naftali Bennett's party into his government.
Netanyahu denied Bayit Yehudi's claims, saying the Zionist Camp would not become part of a government formed by him. However, the prime minister plans to visit Hebron and Gush Etzion, both considered to be Bayit Yehudi strongholds.
Ayelet Shaked, Bayit Yehudi's candidate for public security minister, slammed Netanyahu over the weekend. "I don't understand why Netanyahu is spending all his time dealing with Bayit Yehudi," she said.
"We agreed not to hurt the bloc. We don't attack him about releasing terrorists or approving of a Palestinian state, while he's always busy with Bayit Yehudi. All of a sudden he's visiting Samaria and has become right-wing."
Shaked spoke after a report on Friday by Yedioth Aharonot, which said that the agreement between Bayit Yehudi and Likud to avoid attacking each other was practically nonexistent, and that Likud has formed a strategic plan to weaken Bayit Yehudi, and is focusing much effort on taking votes away from Bennett's base.
It appears that Netanyahu himself is sending conflicting messages to his partner on the right. He promised on the weekend that Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni's Zionist Camp would not be brought into a government formed by him.
"The prime minister has already made it clear a number of times that he will not form a government with the parties of the left, and that Bayit Yehudi will sit in his government," said a spokesperson for Likud's election headquarters.
"But if Likud is not large enough – there is no guarantee that forming a government will fall to Benjamin Netanyahu."
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has continued in his efforts to recruit votes from the religious Zionist community. After visiting the pre-military academy in Eli in the West Bank, the prime minister now seeks to visit the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and settlements in Gush Etzion. Netanyahu has made visits beyond the Green Line only a few times in recent years, and even then made sure to only arrive at the large settlement blocs.
The Prime Minister's Office is considering the potential security ramifications of the visit, as it could inflame tensions.
Hamas warned Netanyahu that the expected visit could have repercussions. "We see it as a severe escalation over which the Palestinian people will not remain silent," the group stated.
Netanyahu's decision to open the Western Wall Tunnels to tourists in September 1996 led to three days of violent riots in East Jerusalem, in which 17 IDF soldiers and scores of Palestinians died. Four years later, a visit to the Temple Mount by Ariel Sharon, then opposition chairman, was met with violent riots that marked the beginning of the Second Intifada.
On Saturday, Likud published ads in newspapers for religious Zionists, including an open letter signed by Tzipi Hotovely that implored readers to drop Bayit Yehudi and instead vote for Likud.
