Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday criticized MK Yisrael Katz, a member of his Likud party, and claimed that Katz is failing to take action against members of the "New Likudniks," because he is interested in gaining their support in future primaries.
The New Likudniks, a faction of the Likud, was established in 2011 by leaders of the social justice protests and aims to invite people who believe in their values and values as described in the Likud Constitution, and to enlist them in support of Knesset candidates.
The motives and credentials of the New Likudniks have been questioned by veteran Likud members who accuse d New Likudniks of being undercover leftists.
“The members of the New Likudniks, many of whom are members of left-wing parties such as Meretz, the Labor Party and the Joint List, including many who were leaders of the Black Flags, join the Likud in order to drag the party to the left in all areas,” Netanyahu wrote on Tuesday.
“They demand support for concessions to the Palestinians, work against the settlement in Judea and Samaria, pressure for the formation of a government with the left and the right, and work to perpetuate the rule of officials and legal advisers.”
“The ‘New Likudniks’ plant people in the Likud branches in order to push the real Likud members from the leadership in the field and later from the leadership of the state.”
“A true Likud member must fight this despicable phenomenon with all his might. Such people have no place in the Likud movement. It's undemocratic and it's destructive to the future of our party.”
“Along with the many who are fighting against this phenomenon, there are unfortunately some who prefer to get votes from them in the primaries at the expense of the good of the state and the movement,” charged Netanyahu.
“I expected all Likud members, including the heads of the party's institutions, to fight vigorously against them and work to get them out of the movement. Everyone did it except Yisrael Katz, who to this day has done and is doing the opposite,” he added.
“Anyone who thinks that in order to get a few votes it is possible to risk the future of the Likud and the future of us all, will find that more than 130,000 members and Likud members will not forgive him for it,” concluded Netanyahu.
Katz has in the past said he sees himself as a candidate for the leadership of the Likud after Netanyahu steps away.
In April it was reported that Katz said in a closed conversation that “if Netanyahu does not form the government, I am the one who should lead the Likud.” His office denied the report at the time and stressed that Katz supported Netanyahu.