Two members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition have announced Wednesday that they would join his Likud rival Gideon Sa'ar in a new breakaway party as Israel inched closer to its fourth round of elections in less than two years.
Sa'ar, a former minister for Likud, said Tuesday that he was resigning from Likud and Knesset and launching a new party with the aim of replacing Netanyahu as the leader of the right wing in Israel.
Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel and the chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Zvi Hauser - both former Netanyahu aides elected on the Blue & White ticket - have announced they will run with Sa'ar in the next elections.
The two currently sit in the coalition as members of their own Derekh Eretz faction.
They released a joint statement, saying that Netanyahu's legal woes are dictating political events.
"Being right-wing does not mean being a Netanyahu supporter and determine what’s best for the leader, but rather the opposite — to make decisions based on ideology," Hendel. "Likud has become mixed up in the past few years. Gideon Sa’ar has not."
"We preferred to give a chance to a unity government, but Netanyahu chose to continue to divide Israel, precisely during an unbearable crisis," Hauser added. "This government has failed at its job."
Meanwhile, Knesset House Committee on Wednesday moved legislation to hold elections on March 16, 2021 to the plenum for approval.
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Senior Likud member Gideon Sa'ar announces a new political party aimed at removing Prime Minister Netanyahu from office
(Photo: Contact)
Likud officials on Wednesday sought to downplay the impact of Sa'ar's announcement, with one saying it would not make any difference to the ongoing political row between Likud and coalition partner Blue & White that has prompted the move to dissolve Knesset.
However, Sa'ar's move could impact Netanyahu's ability to form a new government after the next elections, with initial polling indicating he could win at least 10 seats, enough to block the prime minister's efforts to form a coalition.
"Everything that has happened in the last year has made me realize a change in the country's leadership was necessary," Sa'ar said in a televised address Tuesday.
He slammed the prime minister's handling of the coronavirus crisis and accused him of perverting his party and position in order to avoid criminal charges after being indicted for corruption.
"Loyalty to Likud's way, values and ideals have been replaced by flattery and platitudes that border on a cult of personality of a man who is flesh and blood," he said.
His support is expected to come mainly from Likud and Yamina voters. Unlike Sa'ar, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett has not said he would refuse to join another Netanyahu-led government.
Sa'ar made a failed challenge against Netanyahu for the Likud leadership in a December party primary, winning just 27.5% of the vote.