Haifa Mayor Amram Mitzna declared his candidacy for the Labor Party leadership at a press conference this morning. Recent polls showed that Mitzna would pose a serious challenge to current Labor Party head and Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer - but some of his statements today gave the opposite impression. "Many of the high hopes some had for Mitzna were dashed the minute he opened his mouth today," Arutz-7's Haggai Segal opined. "The man showed that he is quite detached from right-turning public opinion, by declaring today that we must speak with Arafat now, bring an international force to Israel, dismantle Yesha communities, withdraw, and give in. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, the man Mitzna is challenging, is probably breathing much easier already."



Knesset Interior Committee Chairman MK Yossi Katz joined the list of politicians endorsing Mitzna yesterday, and Be'er Sheva Mayor Yaakov Turner is expected to be among the next. Agriculture Minister Shalom Simchon, a Ben-Eliezer backer, called on Mitzna today to support early elections.