Peres (r) and Netanyahu
Peres (r) and NetanyahuIsrael news photo

“I believe Shimon Peres 100%,” says MK Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz, “when he says that his declarations in Brazil of his willingness to give over Judea, Samaria and the Golan to our enemies were stated in coordination with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu… We must unite our forces to unseat Netanyahu.”

President Peres told Brazil’s Congress last week, “For the sake of peace, we returned to Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon all the territories and the water. In a similar spirit, we are seeking solutions to the issues that remain between us and the Syrians and between us and the Palestinians.”

On Sunday, Peres confirmed that these statements were made with total coordination with Prime Minister Netanyahu. “I expressed the image that the government wishes to present to the world,” Peres told IDF Army Radio. “I presented Israel’s desire for peace, and expressed the prices that we paid or that we will pay.”

Encouraged by Rightward Trend

As incensed as Katz was at the president’s remarks, he was equally encouraged by the recent Haaretz public opinion poll showing that the party he heads, the National Union, will nearly double its current electoral strength in the next elections. “It shows that the national-religious public is waking up from the false prophecies of Moshe Feiglin and Effie Eitam that lobbied this precious and Land of Israel-loving public to vote for Netanyahu.”

Feiglin has waged a campaign for over a decade to have the religious-Zionist public join and support the Likud, so as to be able to influence its policies from within.  He himself was voted into the 20th slot on the Likud list of Knesset candidates, but was moved down to the 40’s in what some felt was a “political machination” by Feiglin’s political nemesis, Netanyahu.

“The public voted so strongly for the Likud,” Katz said, “because it believed Netanyahu’s promises that he would never agree to a two-state solution, and that he would renew Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria. Yet after nearly a year in office, Netanyahu is actually worse than his predecessors Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert.”

The poll shows that the public has moved significantly rightwards, with the Likud gaining six seats at the expense of Labor, and the National Union gaining three seats at the expense of other parties.

'Netanyahu Against Jewish Judea/Samaria'

Katz reached back into history to condemn Netanyahu: “Not since the Crusaders has there been a leader who so strongly fights against Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel as Netanyahu. I believe Housing Minister Ariel Attias when he says that Netanyahu instructed him not to issue a single tender in Jerusalem and Judea/Samaria.”

Katz says he believes that future polls will show more Likud voters moving to the National Union. “Those who thought Netanyahu had changed his mind from the Oslo path, and from his support for the Wye Plantation, Hevron and Disengagement deals, and now realize they were tricked, will not want to give Netanyahu yet a third chance,” said Ketzaleh, who served in the early 90’s as top assistant to then-Housing Minister Ariel Sharon.

Despite this, Katz still feels that Netanyahu deserved the votes of at least one sector – those who supported Kadima in the previous election. “But Likud members should return to the healthy approach of Land of Israel leaders such as Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Yitzchak Shamir,” and not vote for those who brought upon the catastrophes of “Sharon, Netanyahu and Olmert.”