Likud Can Still Block Kadima, Says Netanyahu
Likud party Chairman and Knesset member Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his party can still draw enough support to convince President Moshe Katsav to hand leadership of the next government to Likud.
At an election rally on Thursday in the Druze village of Shfaram, Netanyahu said he was optimistic “because the polls from yesterday are showing clearly that the Likud is strengthening and Kadima is weakening. The reason for the shift in the polls,” he said, “is that it has become increasingly clear that Olmert intends to build a staunchly left-wing government coalition with Peres, Peretz and Meretz. Such a government would implement the big surrender plan that only the Likud can prevent.”
Likud will feature late Prime Minister Menachem Begin in its new television ads in the final push for mandates.
Kadima Pushes Disengagement, Limits Coalition to Parties Who Agree
Olmert has said he will evacuate Yesha communities and draw permanent borders unilaterally if he is elected as Prime Minister next week. He maintained in an interview with Ynet news service that even after the withdrawal, a Palestinian state could be established with “internal agreement and international support”.
He has said repeatedly that he will restrict any coalition partners to those who agree to evacuate Yesha communities and unilateral disengagement. Olmert stated Wednesday that he is considering Labor and Meretz for a new coalition.
Olmert added that it would be a disappointment if Kadima wins anything less than 36 Knesset seats next Tuesday.
At a separate rally Thursday, former Prime Minister Shimon Peres criticized the current coalition-building system used to form the government. Peres, number 2 candidate on the Kadima list said “We must put an end to this humiliating method of coalitions”. He added that he hoped his party wins more than 40 Knesset seats next week, but commented “that’s also not much”.
In order for a party to form a ruling government, they must [usually] form a coalition with partner parties totaling a majority of [at least 61] Knesset mandates.
Likud’s Steinitz Trades Barbs With Kadima
Likud Knesset member Yuval Steinitz traded stinging remarks with Kadima officials on Thursday. Steinitz, Chairman of the Knesset’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, told a private party meeting that there would be celebrations throughout the Arab world if the Kadima wins the election.
“If [Acting Prime Minister and Kadima party Chairman Ehud] Olmert wins Tuesday night, there will be celebrations in the streets of Ramallah and joy in Tehran, because from their point of view the road has been paved for the establishment of a Hamas state in the heart of Israel.”
Steinitz said that in contrast, if Likud wins, “there will be celebrations in Jerusalem … and the ayatollahs will hold an emergency consultation in order to see what can be done to continue with their plans”.
The response from Kadima was swift and sharp. "The Likud has gone crazy,” a party spokesman said bluntly. “Steinitz has turned himself into a dangerous clown. Only a disturbed country compares between Kadima and Tehran. The combination of Steinitz and Netanyahu is dangerous for Israel."
Labor Party on the Street
The Labor party is taking its campaign out to the streets, with special road signs proclaiming “Israel is waiting for Labor”, a rerun of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s 1992 slogan, “Israel is waiting for Rabin”.
Party activists will spread out starting Friday, planning to be stationed prominently at 80 major intersections.
Meretz Takes Celebrity Route
The Meretz party took a markedly different approach in getting its message to voters, tapping the internationally-acclaimed Israeli writer Amos Oz to add a personal touch to the final leg of the campaign.
Oz recorded a 40-second telephone message for calls to some 100-thousand voters, telling them that Meretz is the only party that can block right-wing parties from taking over the government. The tape will also be mailed to one million voters, primarily targeting those who are still undecided.
What the Polls are Saying
Pollsters are out in force as the election campaigns wind down to a close. The Geocratographic Institute, Shvakim Panorama, Smith Research and others are all showing a slow but steady swing from Kadima to Likud.
The latest polls put Ehud Olmert’s Kadima party in position to form the next government, though dropping steadily dropping to 33 mandates, down from 43 earlier in the campaign.
The Likud party, led by Benyamin Netanyahu, has risen from 16 mandates last week to 18.
Amir Peretz’s Labor party has also been climbing steadily in the polls nearing 20 Knesset Mandates.
Yisrael Beitenu, catering to the Russian immigrant population and led by Avigdor Lieberman, is poised to receive as many as 13 seats, and may be the most successful party in increasing their poll standing throughout the campaign.
The National Union-National Religious Party conglomerate headed by Benny Elon has not fared well in recent polls. While earlier polling showed that the right-wing party merger could elicit many more mandates, recent polls have placed the group with under 10 seats in the upcoming Knesset.
The Sephardic party Shas, led by Eli Yishai, is holding steady at approximately 9 mandates, and United Torah Judaism, representing the strictly observant Hareidi and Chassidic populations, is expected to receive 6 seats.
Arab parties together are expected to receive 6-7 seats, down from 8, and the leftist Meretz-Yachad party has slowly risen to 5 seats in the polls. Shinui, Green Leaf, Hetz and HaGmalim will not make it in to the next Knesset, according to all the current polls.
Right-wing parties Herut, led by Michael Kleiner, and Hazit, led by Baruch Marzel are also not expected to cross the minimum voter threshold according to the polls.
The Knesset consists of 120 total mandates.
Security for the Elections
The security establishment will maintain a High Alert status until March 30, two days after the elections, due to numerous terrorist warnings. Security officials also said the police will move to emergency status on Sunday through the end of the month in order to ensure a safe Election Day Tuesday.
Likud party Chairman and Knesset member Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his party can still draw enough support to convince President Moshe Katsav to hand leadership of the next government to Likud.
At an election rally on Thursday in the Druze village of Shfaram, Netanyahu said he was optimistic “because the polls from yesterday are showing clearly that the Likud is strengthening and Kadima is weakening. The reason for the shift in the polls,” he said, “is that it has become increasingly clear that Olmert intends to build a staunchly left-wing government coalition with Peres, Peretz and Meretz. Such a government would implement the big surrender plan that only the Likud can prevent.”
Likud will feature late Prime Minister Menachem Begin in its new television ads in the final push for mandates.
Kadima Pushes Disengagement, Limits Coalition to Parties Who Agree
Olmert has said he will evacuate Yesha communities and draw permanent borders unilaterally if he is elected as Prime Minister next week. He maintained in an interview with Ynet news service that even after the withdrawal, a Palestinian state could be established with “internal agreement and international support”.
He has said repeatedly that he will restrict any coalition partners to those who agree to evacuate Yesha communities and unilateral disengagement. Olmert stated Wednesday that he is considering Labor and Meretz for a new coalition.
Olmert added that it would be a disappointment if Kadima wins anything less than 36 Knesset seats next Tuesday.
At a separate rally Thursday, former Prime Minister Shimon Peres criticized the current coalition-building system used to form the government. Peres, number 2 candidate on the Kadima list said “We must put an end to this humiliating method of coalitions”. He added that he hoped his party wins more than 40 Knesset seats next week, but commented “that’s also not much”.
In order for a party to form a ruling government, they must [usually] form a coalition with partner parties totaling a majority of [at least 61] Knesset mandates.
Likud’s Steinitz Trades Barbs With Kadima
Likud Knesset member Yuval Steinitz traded stinging remarks with Kadima officials on Thursday. Steinitz, Chairman of the Knesset’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, told a private party meeting that there would be celebrations throughout the Arab world if the Kadima wins the election.
“If [Acting Prime Minister and Kadima party Chairman Ehud] Olmert wins Tuesday night, there will be celebrations in the streets of Ramallah and joy in Tehran, because from their point of view the road has been paved for the establishment of a Hamas state in the heart of Israel.”
Steinitz said that in contrast, if Likud wins, “there will be celebrations in Jerusalem … and the ayatollahs will hold an emergency consultation in order to see what can be done to continue with their plans”.
The response from Kadima was swift and sharp. "The Likud has gone crazy,” a party spokesman said bluntly. “Steinitz has turned himself into a dangerous clown. Only a disturbed country compares between Kadima and Tehran. The combination of Steinitz and Netanyahu is dangerous for Israel."
Labor Party on the Street
The Labor party is taking its campaign out to the streets, with special road signs proclaiming “Israel is waiting for Labor”, a rerun of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s 1992 slogan, “Israel is waiting for Rabin”.
Party activists will spread out starting Friday, planning to be stationed prominently at 80 major intersections.
Meretz Takes Celebrity Route
The Meretz party took a markedly different approach in getting its message to voters, tapping the internationally-acclaimed Israeli writer Amos Oz to add a personal touch to the final leg of the campaign.
Oz recorded a 40-second telephone message for calls to some 100-thousand voters, telling them that Meretz is the only party that can block right-wing parties from taking over the government. The tape will also be mailed to one million voters, primarily targeting those who are still undecided.
What the Polls are Saying
Pollsters are out in force as the election campaigns wind down to a close. The Geocratographic Institute, Shvakim Panorama, Smith Research and others are all showing a slow but steady swing from Kadima to Likud.
The latest polls put Ehud Olmert’s Kadima party in position to form the next government, though dropping steadily dropping to 33 mandates, down from 43 earlier in the campaign.
The Likud party, led by Benyamin Netanyahu, has risen from 16 mandates last week to 18.
Amir Peretz’s Labor party has also been climbing steadily in the polls nearing 20 Knesset Mandates.
Yisrael Beitenu, catering to the Russian immigrant population and led by Avigdor Lieberman, is poised to receive as many as 13 seats, and may be the most successful party in increasing their poll standing throughout the campaign.
The National Union-National Religious Party conglomerate headed by Benny Elon has not fared well in recent polls. While earlier polling showed that the right-wing party merger could elicit many more mandates, recent polls have placed the group with under 10 seats in the upcoming Knesset.
The Sephardic party Shas, led by Eli Yishai, is holding steady at approximately 9 mandates, and United Torah Judaism, representing the strictly observant Hareidi and Chassidic populations, is expected to receive 6 seats.
Arab parties together are expected to receive 6-7 seats, down from 8, and the leftist Meretz-Yachad party has slowly risen to 5 seats in the polls. Shinui, Green Leaf, Hetz and HaGmalim will not make it in to the next Knesset, according to all the current polls.
Right-wing parties Herut, led by Michael Kleiner, and Hazit, led by Baruch Marzel are also not expected to cross the minimum voter threshold according to the polls.
The Knesset consists of 120 total mandates.
Security for the Elections
The security establishment will maintain a High Alert status until March 30, two days after the elections, due to numerous terrorist warnings. Security officials also said the police will move to emergency status on Sunday through the end of the month in order to ensure a safe Election Day Tuesday.