Ex-Likud MK urges Israelis to vote for his former party
Gideon Sa'ar says only Likud protecting Israel from 'dangerous' consequences of concessions to Palestinains
Former Likud minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday accused left-wing parties of a dangerous readiness to concede territory in the West Bank to Palestinians, and urged voters to reelect Likud in the upcoming elections.
In a Facebook post, Sa’ar, the former interior minister, said that when the Likud came to power “the dangerous process of withdrawals and concessions stopped.”
“We cannot allow the left to renew efforts to make concessions on the heart of the Land of Israel — Judea and Samaria,” he wrote, using the biblical term for the West Bank.
An Israeli withdrawal based on the 1967 lines, with land swaps, was the baseline for the collapsed peace talks with the Palestinians last year. Palestinian negotiators cited Israel’s continued settlement building in the West Bank for the breakdown in the US-brokered talks, a policy that drew harsh international condemnation against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Such concessions will harm the security of Israel, and will threaten the population concentrated in central Israel — in the coastal region and Jerusalem,” Sa’ar wrote.
Sa’ar announced his retirement from political life last year for personal reasons, although some within the party speculated that the decision stemmed from his personal disagreements with Netanyahu.
Marissa Newman contributed to this report.