Netanyahu considering snap primary to bolster legitimacy amid failure to form government

Likud rival Gideon Saar tweets ‘I’m ready’ after news breaks of possible leadership primary, signalling he may battle prime minister for party throne

Benjamin Netanyahu attends the swearing-in ceremony of the 22nd Knesset in Jerusalem on Thursday (Reuters)

Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a potential leadership challenge from within his own party, after a rival Likud figure signalled he would stand against the Israeli prime minister in possible snap primaries called to break a political deadlock in the country.

The Likud party announced on Thursday that Mr Netanyahu was considering instigating an internal election to “shatter the illusion of a ‘Likud rebellion’, which other parties say is preventing them from joining a unity government”.

The surprise move is seen as an attempt by the embattled prime minister to bolster his legitimacy as he struggles to form a ruling coalition after an inconclusive September general election, the second in recent months.

But moments later, Gideon Saar, a popular former Likud minister, tweeted: “I’m ready”.

It sparked a flurry of speculation that Saar, long tipped as Netanyahu’s successor, would fight to dethrone his nemesis.

If the internal vote did go ahead it could mark the first proper Likud leadership primary in five years.

In 2016, when primaries were last called, no other candidate came forward to challenge Mr Netanyahu, and so he ran against himself.

It has been a tumultuous year for the embattled prime minister, who was forced to call two snap elections in under six months.

His government crumbled at the end of last year when a key ally pulled out of his ruling right-wing coalition, triggering a vote in April.

But the country was forced to go back to the polling stations again in September, when Mr Netanyahu failed to form a new government.

The results of the latest vote were also inconclusive and so he is currently struggling to pull together a national unity centrist government with his chief rival, the Blue and White party.

Blue and White has nominally agreed to the idea on the condition that Mr Netanyahu steps down, since he is facing likely indictment on corruption charges.

Mr Netanyahu’s lawyers are currently in the grips of a four-day pre-trial hearing, after which the attorney general will issue his final opinion on whether to send the prime minister to trial.

Mr Netanyahu hopes that winning an internal party election would dispel rumours that his party is disloyal and send a message to rivals like Blue and White that they cannot demand he relinquish his position as an elected party leader.

Blue and White declined to directly comment on possible Likud primaries when approached by The Independent.

But speaking during Thursday’s inauguration of Israel’s newly elected parliament, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, the country’s ex-army chief, once again urged Mr Netanyahu to step aside.

He said the Likud leader cannot be prime minister while “preoccupied by indictments”.

“I call upon Netanyahu: Do not barricade yourself in your position. We will take the reins from here and lead the country for the good of the citizens. We will do this together with the best people from Likud, and together with additional partners.”

Mr Saar, who has previously served as education and interior minister, is a rising star within the Likud and one of the few figures to publicly, albeit tentatively, criticise Mr Netanyahu and his policies.

Mr Netanyahu has previously accused him of plotting to oust him, an accusation Mr Saar has rejected.

That said, it is unclear how much support the Tel Aviv-born lawyer commands within the party, which is usually staunchly loyal to its incumbent leaders.

Just one Likud parliamentarian, Michal Shir, came forward to back Mr Saar’s apparent bid since the announcement was made.

Mr Saar’s friends, meanwhile, have previously told The Independent he has admitted to only having three to four of Likud’s 32 MKs behind him.

Mr Netanyahu with Gideon Saar (right) in 2012, when Saar was education minister (Getty) (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

“He is the only one seen as a rival to Netanyahu as he is popular, has his own following, is well spoken and quite ideological,” Anshel Pfeffer, an Israeli journalist and expert on Nr Netanyahu, told The Independent.

“But that said he doesn’t have much of a chance. I think he is positioning himself and waiting for the day that Netanyahu does step down. The masses in the Likud are still pro-Bibi.”

If primaries are called, Likud members of at least a year are permitted to vote for a leader.