Gideon Sa'ar
Gideon Sa'arSraya Diamant/TPS

MK Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) claimed on Monday that it appears that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is worried about the possibility of Sa’ar running against him in the primaries for the Likud leadership.

"I recognize panic over the possibility of primaries. The movement does not belong to anyone. Every member has the right to run, and every member has the right to vote. I urge Netanyahu to hold quick primaries to avoid third elections,” Sa’ar told Channel 13 News in an interview.

"I am running due to the deep sense that if there is no change, we could continue the political crisis in the country for an unknown period of time or pass power to our political rivals," he added.

Sa’ar expressed surprised at Saturday night’s statement from the Likud spokesperson which came out against him following his call for primaries for the leadership of the Likud. "This is an improper use of resources that indicates a lack of restraint, and so I call for a clean race where neither state nor party resources will be used by any of the candidates - in such a race, which would be fully open, I intend to win."

Sa'ar was asked whether Netanyahu should resign now that indictments against him have been filed. "There is no need for a resignation - there is a whole other question here. The question of the Prime Minister's tenure is currently dictated by the fact that twice he failed to form a government. It is not the indictment that motivated me to propose to hold primaries as soon as possible, but the fact that we in the country are in a crisis that we cannot see its end, and which has plagued us for a year."

On the demonstrations in support of Netanyahu which are scheduled for Tuesday, he said, "Honestly, I think the protests are not beneficial to Netanyahu and harm the Likud. You do not decide whether a person will be acquitted in the city square. There will be caring citizens who have the right to demonstrate, but the question is whether a ruling party chooses to take the decision of the Attorney General and hold a demonstration around it. This is a heavy question and I do not see how it can benefit us politically or Netanyahu in managing his legal battle."

Sa'ar blasted Yair Netanyahu, the Prime Minister's son, over his attacks against his family. "Every day a new low point is reached. My daughter's private life is really not the business of Yair Netanyahu. The Prime Minister has always said, 'Leave my family alone, leave my wife alone, focus on me.' So I tell him, say the same to your son, because there is an attack on my wife, an attack on my daughter, neither of whom are elected figures in the political arena."