Israel Matzav

Netanyahu to form new party?

From London Heathrow, awaiting take off....

Prime Minister Netanyahu moved a step closer to leaving the Likud and forming his own party on Monday as the Tel Aviv district court ruled that he cannot prevent items from coming to a vote before the Likud's Central Committee.

The Likud's law committee had ruled that the power to convene the party's central committee could be taken away from the party leader and given to the head of the central committee, hawkish Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon. When an internal Likud court overruled the law committee, Danon took Netanyahu to the external court.

Judge Dafna Avnieli ruled in Danon's favor and forced Netanyahu's lawyers, who work for the party, to pay Danon NIS 40,000 in legal bills. In her ruling, she criticized Netanyahu for trying to paralyze the party's institutions.

The significance of the ruling is that Danon will now be able to convene the central committee next month for votes on key issues Netanyahu opposes, including opposing territorial concessions and preventing a merger with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party.

 And Netanyahu may be on his way out.. except that you have to wonder how many MK's will follow.

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, Likud Central Committee, Likud party

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:51 PM