Netanyahu Wins All In Israeli Ruling Party’s Leadership Polls

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

The incumbent Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has won a landslide victory in the ruling party, Likud’s primary, ensuring his leadership of the right-wing party in the national elections in March, the party announced on Friday.

The official results released by the Likud in the morning showed that Netanyahu won 72.5 per cent of the party members’ votes while his rival Gideon Saar, a lawmaker of Likud, gained 27.5 per cent of the votes.

Netanyahu claimed victory just before midnight Thursday, writing on Twitter: “Great victory!”

Said he: “With God’s and your help, I will lead the Likud to a great victory in the upcoming election and we will continue to lead Israel to unprecedented achievements”.

In a broadcast statement, Saar congratulated Netanyahu for his victory and said that he would support Netanyahu and the Likud in the upcoming national elections.

Tweeted Saar: “I am absolutely comfortable with my decision to run. Whoever isn’t ready to take a risk for the path he believes in will never win”.

Saar, a veteran politician and former education minister, was widely seen as posing the hardest challenge yet to Netanyahu’s decades-long chairmanship of the Likud.

The embattled Israeli leader is facing criminal indictments in three separate corruption scandals in which he is charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

However, Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing and says the charges were part of “a witch-hunt.”

As the Israeli longest-serving prime minister, 70-year-old Netanyahu failed twice to form a coalition after the last two national elections.

The primary results mean he will stay in office at least until March 2 when Israel will hold a new round of national elections.

The unprecedented elections will be the third time Israelis would cast their ballots in fewer than a year, as a political deadlock has paralysed the Israeli political system over the past months.

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