TEL AVIV, 31 August 2005 — Benjamin Netanyahu launched his much-anticipated campaign yesterday to oust Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from the leadership of the extreme right-wing Likud party with a blistering attack on Israel’s pullout from Gaza. “I intend to lead us to victory in the upcoming elections and to establish the next government in the spirit of Likud,” he told a news conference in Tel Aviv.
“The Likud needs a leader who can unite the ranks, who can rebuild the ruins and take the Likud to victory, and afterwards, to lead the country in the spirit of our principles.” The announcement came less than a month after Netanyahu quit as finance minister in protest at Sharon’s decision to unilaterally pull troops and settlers out of the occupied Gaza Strip. Netanyahu said he would not sanction any more pullouts without a nationwide referendum and accused Sharon of turning Gaza into a haven for extremists such as the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement and the Palestinian movement Hamas.
“Sharon gave and gave, and gave some more, the Palestinians got more and more and more,” said Netanyahu. “What did we get in return? The answer is: nothing, nothing and nothing. “In the past, I proved my ability to conduct forceful negotiations with the Palestinians. I laid down a principle which is known to you all — the principle of reciprocity. They give, they get. If they don’t give, they won’t get.” Netanyahu was flanked at the launch by a clutch of Likud MPs, including former Foreign Minister David Levy.
The 55-year-old Netanyahu, 22 years younger than Sharon managed to rebuild his reputation as finance minister under Sharon but quit on Aug. 7 in protest at the plan to pull settlers out of Gaza and four small West Bank enclaves, an operation which was completed a week ago.
The ill-concealed animosity between the pair has boiled over since Netanyahu’s resignation, with Sharon describing the man known as “Bibi” as an “uptight and pressurable individual who panics and loses his wits.” The prime minister’s chief Cabinet ally Ehud Olmert weighed into the fray after Netanyahu’s announcement, saying he had “stabbed the party in the back”.
“Bibi Netanyahu has set himself up as the head of the extreme right wing,” said Olmert, Netanyahu’s successor at the Finance Ministry. “We are with the mainstream and responsible elements who want to take Israel where it should be, which shows a mix of political responsibility, the willingness to make concessions in order to achieve our ends, as well as real determination in the fight against terror.”
